Appeal No. 1998-2848
Application 08/398,862
As stated in MPEP § 2106 under heading IV.B.1, "Non-Statutory
Subject Matter":
Descriptive material can be characterized as either
"functional descriptive material" or "nonfunctional
descriptive material." In this context, "functional
descriptive material" consists of data structures and
computer programs which impart functionality when encoded
on a computer-readable medium. . . . "Nonfunctional
descriptive material" includes but is not limited to
music, literary works and a compilation or mere
arrangement of data.
Both types of "descriptive material" are
nonstatutory when claimed as descriptive material per se.
When functional descriptive material is recorded on some
computer-readable medium it becomes structurally and
functionally interrelated to the medium and will be
statutory in most cases. . . . When nonfunctional
descriptive material is recorded on some computer-
readable medium, it is not structurally and functionally
interrelated to the medium but is merely carried by the
medium. Merely claiming nonfunctional descriptive
material stored in a computer-readable medium does not
make it statutory. . . .
We refer to the analysis in section IV.B.1(a) in the MPEP and
the Guidelines for further analysis. Computer programs and
data structures per se are abstractions and do not fall within
any of the four statutory categories of patentable subject
matter.
Appellant groups claims 1-39 to stand or fall together
(Br11). Thus, the rejection would normally be decided on the
basis of a single claim. See 37 CFR § 1.192(c)(7) (1997).
- 7 -
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007