The guidelines now direct that an invention falls within the scope of 35 U.S.C. 101 “if the claimed invention physically transforms an article or physical object to a different state or thing, or if the claimed invention otherwise produces a useful, concrete, and tangible result.”

The guidelines respond to the precedential Lundgren decision (Ex parte Lundgren, Appeal No. 2003-2088), which eliminates Patent Office procedure of rejecting patents under 35 U.S.C. § 101 as outside of the “technological arts”.

The court stated: “there is currently no judicially recognized separate "technological arts" test to determine patent eligible subject matter under §101.”

This decision expands the utility of business method patents by eliminating the previous requirement that such methods be tied to a computer or other electronic device.

While this is good news to many U.S. businesses and inventors, this ruling further separates U.S. Patent Law from many foreign nations laws that remain undecided on the patentability of software.