Deferred Subject Matter Eligibility Program

The USPTO is implementing a pilot program called the Deferred Subject Matter Eligibility response.

The point of the program is to defer the whole question of subject matter eligibility until a later stage of patent prosecution.  Deferring subject matter eligibility allows examiners to first check to see if the invention clears the other hurdles, of §§ 112, 102, and 103. If it is struck down in one of those categories, then no time is wasted arguing over the more difficult question of the eligibility.

For more information, check out the USPTO page: https://www.uspto.gov/patents/initiatives/patent-application-initiatives/deferred-subject-matter-eligibility-response