Appeal No. 1996-2986
Application 08/348,625
produces a useful, concrete and tangible result’ . . . ."
State Street Bank 149 F.3d at 1373, 47 USPQ2d at 1601.
Significantly, the court concluded its analysis of the
mathematical algorithm issue as follows: "The question of
whether a claim encompasses statutory subject matter should
not
focus on which of the four categories of subject matter a
claim
is directed to . . . but rather on the essential
characteristics
of the subject matter, in particular, its practical utility."
State Street Bank 149 F.3d at 1375, 47 USPQ2d at 1602.
Appellant’s claim 1 recites an electronic measurement
instrument in which a method of relating measurement traces of
an electrical property of a network is performed. We are of
the view that the claim language recites a practical
application of applying a least squares fit to obtained
measurement samples to determine an electrical characteristic
of a network such as group delay. Since claims 1, 2, 5, 25,
26, and 29 recite a practical application for the reason just
6
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