PatentNext Takeaway: An improvement in the functioning of a computer, or an improvement to other technology or technical field, can provide an overlooked response to a software patent eligibility rejection. MPEP § 2106.04(d)(1) supplies two instructions: (1) the claim need
PatentNext Takeaway: The Federal Circuit’s decision in Dental Monitoring SAS v. Align Technology, Inc., No. 2024-2270 (Fed. Cir. July 7, 2026), provides another important warning for patent applicants seeking protection for artificial intelligence (AI) and machine-learning technologies. Applying a generic
PatentNext Takeaway: Generative artificial intelligence patenting has entered a new phase. According to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), more GenAI patent families were published during 2024 and 2025 than during the entire preceding decade. GenAI patenting is also expanding
PatentNext Takeaway: In Applications in Internet Time, LLC v. Salesforce, Inc., the Federal Circuit provided a useful reminder for drafting AI-related patent claims: dependent claims can help preserve broader independent-claim scope where the dependent claims separately recite narrower AI or
PatentNext Takeaway: On April 30, 2026, the USPTO issued a memorandum titled “Best Practices for Submission of Rule 132 Subject Matter Eligibility Declarations (SMEDs),” updating the Office’s December 4, 2025 guidance to applicants and practitioners. The new memorandum reinforces the
PatentNext Takeway: Ex parte Desjardins—and especially the USPTO’s decision to make it precedential—appears to be shifting examination away from § 101 and toward § 112 written-description scrutiny, particularly for AI-related inventions. For AI-related inventions, a central takeaway is that practitioners
PatentNext Summary: The USPTO has rescinded its February 2024 inventorship guidance for AI-assisted inventions and replaced it with revised guidance issued on November 28, 2025, so prior materials relying on the earlier guidance should be treated as outdated. The revised
PatentNext Summary: An Information Disclosure Statement (IDS) is the primary procedural vehicle for satisfying the duty of candor and good faith owed to the USPTO during patent prosecution. The consequences of failing to disclose material information can be severe, including
Following the USPTO’s high-profile actions in Desjardins, the next question was how that guidance would play out in ordinary PTAB appeals. Ex parte Carmody provides an early answer.
The decision itself is short. The analysis is sparse. And that
On December 4, 2025, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued two memoranda addressing the use of Subject Matter Eligibility Declarations (“SMEDs”) during patent prosecution, both from Director John Squires. The first, the SMED Examiner Memo, targets
