''Ex parte Lundgren'' is a 2005 decision by the
United States Patent and Trademark Office
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency in the United States Department of Commerce, U.S. Department of Commerce that serves as the national patent office and trademark ...
board of appeals, i.e. the
Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences (BPAI) concerning the standard for patent eligible subject matter in the United States.
Under
35 U.S.C. 101, patent applicants are entitled to a patent only if they claim patent eligible subject matter. In ''Lundren,'' the applicant sought to patent a business method for evaluating and rewarding manager performance.
Following an initial examination, the USPTO examiner rejected the applicant's claims, finding that they were not directed towards the patent eligible subject matter.
The applicant appealed this decision to the
Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences, which subsequently held that process
invention
An invention is a unique or novelty (patent), novel machine, device, Method_(patent), method, composition, idea, or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It m ...
s do not have to be in the technological arts in order to be
patentable
Within the context of a national or multilateral body of law, an invention is patentable if it meets the relevant legal conditions to be granted a patent. By extension, patentability also refers to the substantive conditions that must be met for ...
in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. They do, however, have to produce a "concrete, useful and tangible result".
The Board's decision in ''Lundgren'' constituted one of the first in a series of decisions beginning in the mid-2000s and continuing into the late 2010s regarding patent eligible subject matter.
[McEniery, Benjamin J. (2009) ''The patentability of non-physical inventions : lessons from the United States''. Monash University Law Review, 35(2). pp. 376-421.]
See also
*
Business method patent
Business method patents are a class of patents which disclose and claim new methods of doing business. This includes new types of e-commerce, insurance, banking and tax compliance etc. Business method patents are a relatively new species of pate ...
* ''
Ex Parte Bowman''
* ''
Diamond v. Diehr''
* ''
Freeman-Walter-Abele Test''
* ''
State Street Bank v. Signature Financial Group''
References
External links
USPTO article on Ex Parte Lundgren
United States patent case law
2004 in United States case law
Decisions of the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences
Law articles needing an infobox
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