Page 10 - How to Successfully Obtain Blockchain Patents Brochure

To show that the involvement of a computer assists in improving the technology, the claims must recite the details regarding how a computer aids the method, the extent to which the computer aids the method, or the significance of a computer to the performance of the method. Merely adding generic computer components to perform the method is not sufficient.
•A specific, structured graphical user interface that improves the accuracy of trader transactions by displaying bid and asked prices in a particular manner that prevents order entry at a changed price.
Detailed Examples
Having reviewed the applicable USPTO guidance, we will now look at some exemplary inventions and claims provided by the USPTO in the MPEP to help explain how the above guidance is applied. Over the past six years, the USPTO has issued 46 of these examples, which can be found at https://www.uspto.gov/patent/laws-and- regulations/examination-policy/subject-matter-eligibility. The USPTO has modeled these examples after actual cases, but revised the facts to emphasize certain teaching points, such as by including incrementally different versions of the relevant claims. We have selected for further discussion two examples that have at least some analogue to blockchain inventions.
User Interfaces
Example 1 (USPTO Example 37): Relocation of Icons on a Graphical User Interface
In this example, the invention is a method for rearranging icons on a graphical user interface (GUI), where the most used icons are rearranged closest to the “start” icon of the computer system, based on a determined amount of use. This is intended to be an improvement based on previous organization methods (e.g., alphabetic, file size, file type, etc.). The amount of use can either be automatically determined by a tracking system, or manually entered.
To show that the involvement of a computer assists in improving the technology, the claims must recite the details regarding how a computer aids the method, the extent to which the computer aids the method, or the significance of a computer to the performance of the method. Merely adding generic computer components to perform the method is not sufficient. Thus, the claim must include more than mere instructions to perform the method on a generic component or machinery to qualify as an improvement to an existing technology.
The following are some examples where courts have indicated the claim may not be sufficient to show an improvement to technology:
• A commonplace business method being applied on a general purpose computer;
• Gathering and analyzing information using conventional techniques and displaying the result;
• A general method of screening emails on a generic computer; and
• An advance in the informational content of a download for streaming
How to Successfully Obtain Blockchain Patents
www.sheppardmullin.com | 10