Ex parte Gutta


Ex parte Gutta is a precedential decision from the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences of the United States Patent and Trademark Office concerning the patentability of mathematical formulae and/or algorithms. The BPAI rejected Gutta as failing a two-prong test to determine if a machine or "manufacture" involving a mathematical algorithm complies with 35 U.S.C. § 101. The patentability of processes was previously addressed in a closely related case, In re Bilski.

The ''Gutta'' Test

For a claimed machine involving a mathematical algorithm
  1. Is the claim limited to a tangible practical application, in which the mathematical algorithm is applied, that results in a real-world use ?
  2. Is the claim limited so as to not substantially encompass substantially all practical applications of the mathematical algorithm either "in all fields" of use of the algorithm or even in "only one field?"
If the machine fails either prong of the two-part inquiry, then the claim is not directed to patent eligible subject matter.