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Legal Opinion

In re Flook

Court of Customs and Patent Appeals

Decided August 4, 1977No. Patent Appeal No. 77-512PublishedCited by 16 opinions

1Opinion of the Court

BALDWIN, Judge.

This is an appeal from a decision of the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) Board of Appeals (board) sustaining the rejection of claims 1 through 10 of appellant’s application for “Method for Updating Alarm Limits”1 as nonstatutory subject matter under 35 U.S.C. § 101. We reverse.

*22 The Invention

The invention relates to a process for controlling at least one parameter of a catalytic hydrocarbon conversion process. An alarm results when the actual value (PVL) of the parameter reaches an alarm value. The alarm value is not fixed but rather is periodically adjusted as a function of…

2Cases cited4 opinions

  1. Gottschalk v. BensonSupreme Court of the United States · 1972
  2. In re ChatfieldCourt of Customs and Patent Appeals · 1976
  3. In re ChristensenCourt of Customs and Patent Appeals · 1973
  4. In re DeutschCourt of Customs and Patent Appeals · 1977

3Cited by16 opinions

  1. Parker v. FlookSupreme Court of the United States · 1978
  2. In re FreemanCourt of Customs and Patent Appeals · 1978
  3. In re BergyCourt of Customs and Patent Appeals · 1979
  4. In re RichmanCourt of Customs and Patent Appeals · 1977
  5. In re MaucorpsCourt of Customs and Patent Appeals · 1979

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