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The USPTO has recently published a guidance memorandum titled “Guidance For Determining Subject Matter Eligibility Of Claims Reciting Or Involving Laws of Nature, Natural Phenomena, & Natural Products” which implements a new procedure to address changes in the law relating to subject matter eligibility under 35 U.S.C. § 101 in view of recent court decisions including Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, Inc., 569 U.S._, 133 S. Ct. 2107, 2116, 106 USPQ2d 1972 (2013), and Mayo Collaborative Services v. Prometheus Laboratories, Inc., 566 U.S._, 132 S. Ct. 1289, 101 USPQ2d 1961 (2012).

In summary, all claims (i.e., machine, composition, manufacture and process claims) reciting or involving laws of nature/natural principles, natural phenomena, and/or natural products should be examined using the Guidance. The new procedure set forth in the Guidance will assist examiners in determining whether a claim reflects a significant difference from what exists in nature and thus is eligible, or whether a claim is effectively drawn to something that is naturally occurring, like the claims found ineligible by the Supreme Court in Myriad. A full explanation of the new procedure and multiple examples of its application are set forth in the Guidance.

The examination procedure set forth in the Guidance is effective from March 4, 2014 and supersedes the June 13,2013 memorandum to the corps titled “Supreme Court Decision in Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, Inc.”

There is no change to examination of claims reciting an abstract idea, which should continue to be analyzed for subject matter eligibility using the existing guidance in MPEP § 2106 (II).

Source: USPTO Guidelines and Quick Reference Guide