Medieval scholars purportedly used to debate questions such as how many angels can dance on the head of pin. Patent attorneys are currently debating a similar question, which is whether an invention is an abstract idea.  The USPTO has just issued new guidelines to help answer the question.  

The National Inventor Hall of Fame inducts a class of inventors every year to honor their breakthrough inventions.  The inductees typically have far reaching inventions that have profound impacts on the world.  On one of my more recent visits to the museum, I was reading about one of the inventions honored at the museum and…

While many patent attorneys spend their career filing patent applications and office action responses with the USPTO, few take advantage of the fact that the USPTO is an administrative agency and thus bound by the Administrative Procedure Act and the Freedom of Information Act.  This post analyzes some of the FOIA denials I have received…