Last week at the PTO in Ex parte Itagaki and Nishihara, __ USPQ2d __, App. No. 2015-002702 (PTO Bd. App. Dec. 30, 2016)(Lorin, J.), a panel of the Board issued a new, § 101 ground of rejection to deny patent-eligibility to a claim to anapparatus, i.e., “[a] magnetic resonance imaging apparatus.”
A Federal Circuit appeal is NOT procedurally possible at this time.
Further details including a copy of the opinion are included in the attached pdf version of this note.
Regards,
Hal