Eligibility, claims and prior art
MPEP sections on subject matter eligibility, claim interpretation, inherency and anticipation (Chapter 2100).
Eligibility, claims and prior artMPEP 2106: Patent Subject Matter EligibilityMPEP 2106 explained: the Alice/Mayo eligibility test the USPTO applies under 35 U.S.C. 101, step by step.Read the entryEligibility, claims and prior artMPEP 2106.04(a)(2): Abstract Idea GroupingsThe three groupings of abstract ideas in MPEP 2106.04(a)(2): mathematical concepts, mental processes, and certain methods of organizing human activity.Read the entryEligibility, claims and prior artMPEP 2106.04(d): Integration Into a Practical ApplicationMPEP 2106.04(d) explained: Step 2A Prong Two, and the considerations that show a judicial exception is integrated into a practical application.Read the entryEligibility, claims and prior artMPEP 2111: Broadest Reasonable Interpretation (BRI)MPEP 2111 explained: how the USPTO reads claims under the broadest reasonable interpretation, and how preambles and transitional phrases are treated.Read the entryEligibility, claims and prior artMPEP 2112: InherencyMPEP 2112 explained: when a feature is inherent in prior art, why it must be necessarily present, and how the burden shifts to the applicant.Read the entryEligibility, claims and prior artMPEP 2113: Product-by-Process ClaimsMPEP 2113 explained: why patentability of a product-by-process claim turns on the product itself, not the process that made it.Read the entryEligibility, claims and prior artMPEP 2114: Functional Language in Apparatus ClaimsMPEP 2114 explained: apparatus claims cover what a device is, not what it does, and how functional language and intended use are treated.Read the entryEligibility, claims and prior artMPEP 2117: Markush ClaimsMPEP 2117 explained: what a Markush group is, why it uses closed "consisting of" language, and when a Markush grouping is improper.Read the entryEligibility, claims and prior artMPEP 2125: Drawings as Prior ArtMPEP 2125 explained: when drawings in a reference can anticipate a claim, and why proportions in patent drawings are not reliable.Read the entryEligibility, claims and prior artMPEP 2131: Anticipation Under 35 U.S.C. 102MPEP 2131 explained: a claim is anticipated only if a single prior art reference discloses every element, expressly or inherently.Read the entryEligibility, claims and prior artMPEP 2103: The Patent Examination ProcessMPEP 2103 explained: the order in which examiners review an application, from what the applicant invented to the patentability requirements.Read the entry