12/16/2014美國專利局可專利標的暫時性審查指導方針：
http://patentlyo.com/media/2014/12/FR-for-101-guidance.pdf
Federal Register：
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2014-12-16/pdf/2014-29414.pdf
重點版（沒時間看這個就好）：
http://www.uspto.gov/patents/law/exam/2014_eligibility_qrs.pdf
本部落格先前整理：
http://enpan.blogspot.tw/2014/12/uspto-two-step-test.html
USPTO提示判斷可專利標的的流程：
2. 發明是否為法定不可專利項目？（也就是判斷發明是否指向法定例外（judicial exception）、判斷是否有具體技術特徵（討論解決特定技術問題、連結到硬體的必要性等），如果非法定不可專利，則為可專利標的）
3. 如果發明落於「法定不可專利項目」，則判斷請求項是否有技術元件「實質上超越」法定不可專利的例外項目（如自然律、自然現象、抽象概念）
4. 如果沒有實質超越抽象概念的技術，則非可專利標的；如果有，則為可專利標的
這裡列舉一些抽象概念的範例（有些案例曾於本部落格討論）：
http://www.uspto.gov/patents/law/exam/abstract_idea_examples.pdf
美國專利局提出的抽象概念範例分為兩個部分，第一部分（part one）討論一些美國法院（CAFC）的可專利標的案例；第二部份（part two）則提出法院認為非可專利標的案例。
(part one)
案例一：
Isolating and Removing Malicious Code from Electronic Messages
此案例之系爭專利關於從電子訊息（如email）中隔離或移除惡意程式碼的發明。這類技術不外乎是透過掃描程式檢查各種來往電子訊息，以執行攔截或清理。檢查的方式就是比對資料庫中已知惡意程式特徵的各種樣本（pattern），這裡稱為『惡意程式碼指示樣本（malicious code-indicative pattern）』，也包括惡意程式的開始與結束的標記點（marker）。
執行語法分析（parsing）時，有以下步驟：
1. 掃描電子訊息中惡意程式，以辨識惡意程式的開始標記點；
2. 對惡意程式開始與結束標記點中間的各掃描位元組豎立旗標（flag）；
3. 持續掃描直到沒有任何惡意程式的開始標記點為止；
4. 複製沒有豎立旗標的資料，以建立新的資料檔，形成沒有受到感染的訊息。
請求項範例如下，討論可專利的步驟如下：
Claims
1. A computer-implemented method for protecting a computer from an electronic communication containing malicious code, comprising executing on a processor the steps of:
receiving an electronic communication containing malicious code in a computer with a memory having a boot sector, a quarantine sector and a non-quarantine sector;
storing the communication in the quarantine sector of the memory of the computer, wherein the quarantine sector is isolated from the boot and the non-quarantine sector in the computer memory, where code in the quarantine sector is prevented from performing write actions on other memory sectors;
extracting, via file parsing, the malicious code from the electronic communication to create a sanitized electronic communication, wherein the extracting comprises
scanning the communication for an identified beginning malicious code marker,
flagging each scanned byte between the beginning marker and a successive end malicious code marker,
continuing scanning until no further beginning malicious code marker is found, and
creating a new data file by sequentially copying all non-flagged data bytes into a new file that forms a sanitized communication file;
transferring the sanitized electronic communication to the non-quarantine sector of the memory; and
deleting all data remaining in the quarantine sector.
1. 在此案例claim 1中，揭露一序列自訊息中排除惡意程式的步驟，顯然是個方法專利（process）；
2. 此案例顯然是個隔離與攔截惡意程式的軟體技術，涉及從記憶體中取得電子訊息以及進一步從當中取得惡意程式碼，此具體動作並非「抽象概念」（"Such action does not describe an abstract concept, or a concept similar to those found by the courts to be abstract"），也就並非是法院認為不可專利的經濟行為、人類活動、概念本身，或是數學方法等；
3. 此技術不可避免地為一電腦技術，但並非是法院認定的抽象概念；
4. 本項為可專利標的。
2. A non-transitory computer-readable medium for protecting a computer from an electronic communication containing malicious code, comprising instructions stored thereon, that when executed on a processor, perform the steps of:
receiving an electronic communication containing malicious code in a computer with a memory having a boot sector, a quarantine sector and a non-quarantine sector;
storing the communication in the quarantine sector of the memory of the computer, wherein the quarantine sector is isolated from the boot and the non-quarantine sector in the computer memory, where code in the quarantine sector is prevented from performing write actions on other memory sectors;
extracting, via file parsing, the malicious code from the electronic communication to create a sanitized electronic communication, wherein the extracting comprises
scanning the communication for an identified beginning malicious code marker,
flagging each scanned byte between the beginning marker and a successive end malicious code marker,
continuing scanning until no further beginning malicious code marker is found, and
creating a new data file by sequentially copying all non-flagged data bytes into a new file that forms a sanitized communication file;
transferring the sanitized electronic communication to the non-quarantine sector of the memory; and
deleting all data remaining in the quarantine sector.
1. 此案例claim 2界定「非暫態電腦可讀取媒體」，屬於美國專利法35USC101的製品（manufacture）；
2. 其中界定如claim 1的步驟（參考claim 1判斷），並由處理器執行，並非是抽象概念；
3. 因此本項範圍為可專利標的。
案例二：
E-Commerce Outsourcing System/Generating a Composite Web Page
可參考部落格先前報導：商業方法可專利性？電腦軟體專利的生機 - DDR Holdings v. Hotels.com (Fed. 2014)案例討論
claim 19：
19. A system useful in an outsource provider serving web pages offering
commercial opportunities, the system comprising:
(a)a computer store containing data, for each of a plurality of first web pages, defining a plurality of visually perceptible elements, which visually perceptible elements correspond to the plurality of first web pages;
(i)wherein each of the first web pages belongs to one of a plurality of web page owners;
(ii)wherein each of the first web pages displays at least one active link associated with a commerce object associated with a buying opportunity of a selected one of a plurality of merchants; and
(iii) wherein the selected merchant, the outsource provider, and the owner of the first web page displaying the associated link are each third parties with respect to one other;
(b)a computer server at the outsource provider, which computer server is coupled
to the computer store and programmed to:
(i)receive from the web browser of a computer user a signal indicating activation of one of the links displayed by one of the first web pages;
(ii)automatically identify as the source page the one of the first web pages on which the link has been activated;
(iii) in response to identification of the source page, automatically retrieve the stored data corresponding to the source page; and
(iv) using the data retrieved, automatically generate and transmit to the web browser a second web page that displays: (A) information associated with the commerce object associated with the link that has been activated, and (B) the plurality of visually perceptible elements visually corresponding to the source page.
1. 本項發明揭示電腦伺服器與電子商務方面的系統，系統顯然連結有硬體元件，符合35USC101中的機械（machine）可專利標的；
2. 判斷是否為法定例外，本項系統提供網頁技術提供商務服務，且是根據識別出原始網頁內容而自動產生視覺畫面的網頁技術（"automatically generating and transmitting a web page in response to activation of a link using data identified with a source web page having certain visually perceptible elements"），這並非一般數學方法，也不是一般商務運作，因此並非是單純引用商務運作在網際網路上運行的技術，更解決技術問題，因此並非落於法定不可專利項目（例外）。本項並非是僅將抽象概念的技術應用在網際網路上，為可專利標的。
案例三：
Digital Image Processing
（案例：Research Corporation Technologies Inc. v. Microsoft Corp., 627 F.3d 859 (Fed. Cir. 2010)）
系爭專利：US5,111,310
數位影像一般包括行與列的畫素，並可以灰階表示色彩強度，但有一些裝置只能表現出黑與白兩種色調，如傳真機，因此列印時，具有色彩的影像可以半色調（halftoning）技術轉換為黑與白的色調，方法就是透過門檻比對判斷每個像素為黑或白。此系爭專利提出一種「blue noise」的遮罩技術，可以使用較少的記憶體，並提昇運算速度，但此blue noise遮罩是透過反覆運算的數學式實現，請求項分別界定方法、儲存媒體與系統，分別如下。
1. A computer-implemented method for halftoning a gray scale image, comprising the steps of:
generating, with a processor, a blue noise mask by encoding changes in pixel values across a plurality of blue noise filtered dot profiles at varying gray levels;
storing the blue noise mask in a first memory location;
receiving a gray scale image and storing the gray scale image in a second memory location;
comparing, with a processor on a pixel-by-pixel basis, each pixel of the gray scale image to a threshold number in the corresponding position of the blue noise mask to produce a binary image array; and
converting the binary image array to a halftoned image.
1. 請求項1描述產生blue noise遮罩與執行半色調的步驟，是方法專利（process），為法定可專利項目；
2. 此blue noise遮罩技術係由數學方法實現，數學方法一般為法定不予專利的項目（judicial exception）；
3. 於是要判斷其中技術元件是否有「實質超越」其不予專利的例外項目？也就是判斷是否有實質超越數學方法的抽象概念？
4. 本項記載有執行blue noise mask的處理器，有儲存灰階影像的記憶體，但是都為一般目的電腦可實現的技術（"Merely using generic computer components to perform the above identified basic computer functions to practice or apply the judicial exception does not constitute a meaningful limitation that would amount to significantly more than the judicial exception"）
5. 請求項內記載比對blue noise mask與灰階影像而將灰階影像轉為數位影像，在轉換為半色調影像，認為這個動作對抽象概念產生有意義的限制，使得技術「實質超越」僅以電腦技術時限的抽象概念（"These steps add meaningful limitations to the abstract idea of generating the blue noise mask and therefore add significantly more to the abstract idea than mere computer implementation."）。註：本項技術不同於Alice Corp.最高法院判例，Alice Corp.案僅將抽象概念限定在電腦環境中，而僅利用電腦執行抽象概念而已。
2. A non-transitory computer-readable medium with instructions stored thereon, that when executed by a processor, perform the steps comprising:
generating a blue noise mask by encoding changes in pixel values across a plurality of blue noise filtered dot profiles at varying gray levels;
storing the blue noise mask in a first memory location;
receiving a gray scale image and storing the gray scale image in a second memory location;
comparing, on a pixel-by-pixel basis, each pixel of the gray scale image to a threshold number in the corresponding position of the blue noise mask to produce a binary image array; and
converting the binary image array to a halftoned image.
以上相同判斷適用於claim 2所界定的非暫態電腦可讀取媒體上。
3. A system for halftoning a gray scale image, comprising:
a processor that generates a blue noise mask by encoding changes in pixel values across a plurality of blue noise filtered dot profiles at varying gray levels;
a first memory for storing the blue noise mask; and
a second memory for storing a received gray scale image;
wherein the processor further compares, on a pixel-by-pixel basis, each pixel of the gray scale image to a threshold number in the corresponding position of the blue noise mask to produce a binary image array and converts the binary image array to a halftoned image.
以上相同判斷適用於claim 3所界定的系統上。
案例四：
Global Positioning System
（案例：SiRF Technology Inc. v. International Trade Commission, 601 F.3d 1319 (Fed. Cir. 2010)）
系爭專利：US6,417,801
GPS就是全球定位系統，使用多個衛星訊號計算GPS接收器的位置，每一個衛星會發出包括唯一偽隨機噪聲碼（PN code）、衛星定位數據與時間資訊等訊息的訊號，這訊號一般情況會被終端GPS接收器所接收，但在一些訊號強度較弱的區域，可能僅會接收到PN code。
系爭專利提供一伺服器，與終端GPS接收器連結，可以解決無法收到衛星傳送的衛星定位數據與時間資訊的問題。當GPS接收器僅取得PN code時，可以運算得到一偽範圍（pseudo-range），系爭專利透過伺服器接收此偽範圍，可以根據此訊息，再根據相關位置的無線基地台估計位置，再用伺服器本身的時間作為從衛星收到的時間資訊，因此重建原本衛星傳送的訊息，再回傳到終端GPS接收器上，如具有處理器、顯示器與無線通訊功能的手機。
系爭專利claims 1, 2如下，
1. A system for calculating an absolute position of a GPS receiver and an absolute time of reception of satellite signals comprising:
a mobile device comprising a GPS receiver, a display, a microprocessor and a wireless communication transceiver coupled to the GPS receiver, the mobile device programmed to receive PN codes sent by a plurality of GPS satellites, calculate pseudo-ranges to the plurality of GPS satellites by averaging the received PN codes, and transmit the pseudo-ranges, and
a server comprising a central processing unit, a memory, a clock, and a server communication transceiver that receives pseudo-ranges from the wireless communication transceiver of the mobile device, the memory having location data stored therein for a plurality of wireless towers, and the central processing unit programmed to:
estimate a position of the GPS receiver based on location data for a wireless tower from the memory and time data from the clock,
calculate absolute time that the signals were sent from the GPS satellites using the pseudo-ranges from the mobile device and the position estimate,
create a mathematical model to calculate absolute position of the GPS receiver based on the pseudo-ranges and calculated absolute time,
calculate the absolute position of the GPS receiver using the mathematical model, and
transmit the absolute position of the GPS receiver to the mobile device, via the server communication transceiver, for visual representation on the display.
1. 本項界定的系統包括有行動裝置、伺服器，符合35USC101規定的機械（machine）可專利標的；
2. 其中涉及數學方法，比如運算得到pseudo-range與時間，因此屬於法定不予專利的標的；
3. 此項發明應用了電腦技術，但是仍可能因為是用來執行數學方程式的一般目的電腦，但是仍因為結合了具有GPS接收器的行動裝置，還可顯示伺服器傳送的位置資訊、與伺服器與衛星皆有互動關係，因此具有有意義的限制條件，並非僅以一般電腦所執行的技術。並且，系爭專利解決習知訊號微弱時無法準確定位的問題，這已經實質超越法定不可專利標的的項目（"amount to significantly more than the judicial exception"）
2. A method for calculating an absolute position of a GPS receiver and an absolute time of reception of satellite signals comprising:
calculating pseudo-ranges, at a mobile device comprising a GPS receiver, a microprocessor, a display, and a wireless communication transceiver, by averaging PN codes received by the GPS receiver from a plurality of GPS satellites;
wirelessly transmitting the calculated pseudo-ranges from the mobile device to a server, wherein the server comprises a central processing unit (CPU);
calculating, by the server CPU, absolute time that the PN codes were sent from the GPS satellites to the GPS receiver using the pseudo-ranges and an estimated position of the GPS receiver;
using a mathematical model to calculate, by the server CPU, absolute position of the GPS receiver based on the pseudo-ranges and calculated absolute time;
transmitting the absolute position from the server to the mobile device; and
displaying a visual representation of the absolute position on the display of the mobile device.
(part two)
案例五：
Digital Image Processing
（"Digitech Image Tech., LLC v. Electronics for Imaging, Inc., 758 F.3d 1344 (Fed. Cir. 2014)"）
系爭專利：US6,128,415
這是一個數位影像處理技術，在兩個裝置之間傳送影像訊號時，能夠以更好品質的方式傳輸，但其中影像處理雖有特色，包括將影像顏色資訊、空間資訊等訊息分別處理，但是，即便專利技術為符合35USC101中方法標的，但因認為其中方法為抽象概念，且認為其中數學方法並無超越抽象概念（數學方法）本身，本項不具可專利性。
10. A method of generating a device profile that describes properties of a device in a digital image reproduction system for capturing, transforming or rendering an image, said method comprising:
generating first data for describing a device dependent transformation of color information content of the image to a device independent color space through use of measured chromatic stimuli and device response characteristic functions;
generating second data for describing a device dependent transformation of spatial information content of the image in said device independent color space through use of spatial stimuli and device response characteristic functions; and
combining said first and second data into the device profile.
案例六：
The Game of Bingo
可參考部落格文章：遊戲軟體與使用自然法則的技術思想 - Planet Bingo v. VKGS案例討論
其中claim 1為系統專利，且符合35USC101規定的可專利標的；但因為其中claim 1系統如Bilski案例中為風險管理，以及如Alice Corp.為商業交易，認為該項範圍指向抽象概念（"Although the claims are not drawn to the same subject matter, the abstract idea of managing a game of Bingo is similar to the abstract ideas of managing risk (hedging) during consumer transactions (Bilski) and mitigating settlement risk in financial transactions (Alice Corp.)"）。
接著判斷，該項範圍雖界定出一些硬體特徵，但是對於系爭專利範圍中遊戲的方法中，運行於原本硬體的基本功能上，並無法將抽象概念轉為可專利標的，也沒有實質超越抽象概念本身（"As such, there is no inventive concept sufficient to transform the claimed subject matter into a patent-eligible application. The claim does not amount to significantly more than the abstract idea itself"），不具可專利性。
案例七：
E-Commerce providing Transaction Performance Guaranty
（案例：buySAFE, Inc. v. Google, Inc., 765 F.3d 1350 (Fed. Cir. 2014)）
系爭專利：US7,644,019
這是一件典型的商業方法，也就是一種保障網路交易安全的保險技術。當交易服務提供者接收使用者取得安全交易保障的請求，安全交易業者將提供保障服務。
claim 1技術如下。
1. A method, comprising:
receiving, by at least one computer application program running on a computer of a safe transaction service provider, a request from a first party for obtaining a transaction performance guaranty service with respect to an online commercial transaction following closing of the online commercial transaction;
processing, by at least one computer application program running on the safe transaction service provider computer, the request by underwriting the first party in order to provide the transaction performance guaranty service to the first party,
wherein the computer of the safe transaction service provider offers, via a computer network, the transaction performance guaranty service that binds a transaction performance guaranty to the online commercial transaction involving the first party to guarantee the performance of the first party following closing of the online commercial transaction.
1. 本項為提供保障的方法，屬於35USC101規定的方法專利（process）；
2. 本項被認為是基本的商業運作，如Bilski案例的商業方法，為抽象概念；
3. 其中提供保障的服務，其中採用電腦技術的部分，認為是僅需要一般電腦的基本功能，並無實質超越法定不予專利標的。
案例八：
Distribution of Products over the Internet
可參考部落格文章：電腦軟體發明中僅靠新穎特徵仍不足以克服不符101的理由 - Ultramercial v. Hulu (Fed. Cir. 2014)案例討論
系爭專利：US7,346,545
本案解決數位版權的問題，其中利用廣告贊助的方式合法取得著作權授權，顯然技術雖屬於方法等35USC101規定的專利標的中，但是技術被認為是如Bilski等商業運作的技術，為抽象概念；且相關網路上的應用也無法實質超越抽象概念，以及一般電腦技術。為不可專利標的。
Ron
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