Appeal No. 2002-0652
Application No. 08/465,072
constitute "manufactures" (and hence "products") because the
signals are physical things made by the disclosed circuits.
The three product classes of statutory subject matter under
35 U.S.C. § 101 (machine, manufacture, and composition of matter)
have traditionally required physical structure or matter. While
the specification discloses things, such as computers, memory
chips, wires, etc., which are products, the claim language does
not read on these things. No tangible physical structure is made
in response to information as recited in the claims. We also
disagree with the argument that "signals" are a "manufacture" and
hence a product. A signal, while physical in the sense that it
can be measured, does not have a tangible physical structure and
does not fall within any of the statutory categories. See In re
Bonczyk, No. 01-1061 (Fed. Cir. May 11, 2001) (unpublished)
("fabricated energy structure" does not correspond to any
statutory category of subject matter and it is unnecessary to
reach the alternate ground of affirmance that the subject matter
lacks practical utility). A "composition of matter" "covers all
compositions of two or more substances and includes all composite
articles, whether they be results of chemical union, or of
mechanical mixture, or whether they be gases, fluids, powders or
solids." Shell Development Co. v. Watson , 149 F. Supp. 279, 280,
113 USPQ 265, 266 (D.D.C. 1957), aff'd, 252 F.2d 861, 116 USPQ
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