USPTO director provides hope for clarity on patentable subject matter
At the recent annual meeting of the Intellectual Property Owners Association, the Hon. Andrei Iancu, Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, gave the plenary address. In his speech, Director Iancu stated that the USPTO was working on revised examination guidelines to provide consistency and clarity when assessing patentable subject matter by adopting a pragmatic approach that still operates within the framework established by the US Supreme Court. Notably, he focussed on keeping the grounds of patentable subject matter, novelty, inventive step, and support in their separate “lanes”. A transcript of the full address is accessible on the USPTO website.