Appeal No. 2006-0688
Application No. 09/838,425
computer program per se or an abstract idea that is not tied to any technological
environment and does not result in a practical application producing a concrete, useful
and tangible result. With respect to claim 7, the examiner asserts that the recited
computer readable medium may encompass an intangible embodiment such as a
carrier wave or transmission media [answer, page 7]. Appellants argue that claim 6 is
directed to a system having “means for” elements. Appellants note that these elements
relate to a computer system such as shown in Figure 1A and cannot be a computer
program per se. With respect to claim 7, appellants argue that computer readable
media have been held to be statutory subject matter. Appellants assert that there is no
requirement that the computer readable medium itself be tangible, but only that it
produce a result that is useful, concrete and tangible. They argue that the fact that a
computer readable medium might read on carrier waves or transmission media is not a
basis to find the claimed invention to be non-statutory [brief, pages 10-14]. With respect
to claim 6, the examiner responds that the claim requires no hardware and may
encompass a purely software system. With respect to claim 7, the examiner responds
that the claim includes an intangible embodiment which is not statutory subject matter
[answer, pages 19-20]. Appellants respond that the means of claim 6 is supported by
the system of Figure 1A which may include software but is not software only.
Appellants also respond that there is no requirement that the data be permanently
recorded on the media. They also assert that carrier waves and transmission media are
tangible because they are capable of being perceived [reply brief, pages 7-10].
7
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