Appeal No. 2001-0161
Application No. 08/784,087
nonstatutory subject matter, unless, of course, its operation
does not produce a 'useful, concrete and tangible result.'" Id.
at 1602. In this case, the court stated that "the transformation
of data, representing discrete dollar amounts, by a machine
through a series of mathematical calculations into a final share
price, constitutes a practical application of a mathematical
algorithm . . . because it produces 'a useful, concrete and
tangible result' . . . ." Id. at 1601.
Significantly, the court concluded its analysis 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." Id.
Appellant's claim 13 recites:
a method of defining an IrDA protocol stack having a
series of layers . . . including at least a transceiver
device and a host adapted for IR transmissions
therebetween comprising the steps of . . . providing
. . . connection-less Link Service Access point (LSAP)
defining rules for establishing a service-to service
connection by binding an LSAP of said transceiver device
with an LSAP of said host for transmitting and accepting
data in IR transmission exchanged therebetween.
66
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