Appeal No. 2006-0109 Παγε 7
Application No. 10/350,187
This application is remanded to the examiner, pursuant to our authority under
37 CFR § 41.50(a)(1), for consideration of whether claim 9 is directed to patentable
subject matter under 35 U.S.C. § 101. We note that claim 9 is directed simply to a
computer program without any recitation of a computer-readable medium on which it is
stored to realize its functionality. It thus appears to be the type of data structure
discussed in ANNEX IV of the Interim Guidelines for Examination of Patent Applications
for Patent Subject Matter Eligibility (1300 Off. Gaz. Pat. Office 142 (November 22,
2005)) as nonstatutory functional material. After reviewing the subject matter of claim 9
in light of these guidelines, the examiner should consider whether a rejection under
35 U.S.C. § 101 is appropriate.
CONCLUSION
To summarize, the decision of the examiner to reject claims 1-3, 6 and 9-12
under 35 U.S.C. § 102(e) and claim 7 under 35 U.S.C. § 103 is reversed and the
application is remanded for the reason discussed above.
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