USPTO guidance after the pinned revision
The MPEP is not all of current examination practice. Between revisions the USPTO changes practice through documents that never touch the published manual: advance notices of change to the MPEP, Director and Commissioner memoranda, Federal Register guidance updates, subject-matter-eligibility example sets, and precedential Board decisions. Each document below is pinned by the SHA-256 of the PDF as fetched from the USPTO; a section the document amends says so at the top of its page. Agents reach the same documents through the list_guidance / get_guidance tools.
Subject matter eligibility (35 U.S.C. 101) · 17
- 2026-09-29Memorandumscanned original · OCR textSubject Matter Eligibility Declarations (SMEDs) under 37 CFR 1.132 — Flowchart for Analysis and Best PracticesUSPTOAddendum to the 2026-04-30 practitioner SMED memo: supplements it, does not supersede it, and does not revise the 2025-12-04 examiner memo. States it announces no new practice. Introduces the SMED review flowchart (smed-flowchart-2026-09-29), the Patent Center document code AF/D.SMED, and the Step 2 quick reference guide (sme-qrg-step2-2026-09-29). Relies on MPEP 716, 716.01, 716.01(c), 2106.07, 713, 1004.
- 2026-09-29Supporting materialFlow Chart — Evaluating Subject Matter Eligibility Declarations (SMEDs)USPTOAttachment to memo-smed-practitioners-2026-09-29, also shared with the examining corps. Part 1: formality review (timeliness, MPEP 716, 716.01, 717.01(c); FP 7.66). Part 2: review on the merits (MPEP 716.01(b)-(d), 608.04(a), 2106.07, 2106.07(b); FP 7.65 / 7.66; preponderance standard, a 50/50 split goes to the applicant).
- 2026-09-29Supporting materialSubject Matter Eligibility Quick Reference Guide (QRG) — Step 2USPTOExaminer-facing one-sheet summary of Step 2A Prong One groupings (MPEP 2106.04(a)(2), 2106.04(b)-(c)) and the Prong Two / Step 2B considerations (MPEP 2106.04(d), 2106.05(a)-(h), 2106.07(a)). Announced in memo-smed-practitioners-2026-09-29; to be read with MPEP 2106 and the guidance memoranda, not instead of them.
- 2026-04-30Memorandumscanned original · OCR textBest Practices for Submission of Rule 132 Subject Matter Eligibility Declarations (SMEDs)USPTOSupersedes the 2025-12-04 Director's memorandum to applicants and practitioners on SMEDs. Supplemented (not superseded) by the 2026-09-29 addendum memo, memo-smed-practitioners-2026-09-29.
- 2025-12-05Advance notice of change to the MPEPAdvance Notice of Change to the MPEP in Light of Ex parte DesjardinsUSPTO
- 2025-12-04MemorandumMemorandum to the Patent Examining Corps — Subject Matter Eligibility DeclarationsUSPTO
- 2025-09-26Precedential decisionEx parte Desjardins, Appeal 2024-000567 (Appeals Review Panel, Sept. 26, 2025) — precedentialUSPTO Appeals Review Panel (Director Squires) · Appeal 2024-000567Designated precedential 2025-11-04. Incorporated into MPEP 2106.04(d), 2106.04(d)(1), 2106.05(a), 2106.05(f) by the 2025-12-05 advance notice.
- 2025-08-04MemorandumReminders on Evaluating Subject Matter Eligibility of Claims under 35 U.S.C. 101USPTO (Deputy Commissioner for Patents)
- 2024-07-17Federal Register notice2024 Guidance Update on Patent Subject Matter Eligibility, Including on Artificial IntelligenceUSPTO · 89 FR 58128govinfo serves whole Federal Register pages; text is trimmed to this notice (89 FR 58128-58138).
- 2024-07-17Eligibility examplesJuly 2024 Subject Matter Eligibility Examples 47-49 (artificial intelligence)USPTO
- 2024-07-17Eligibility examplesIndex of Subject Matter Eligibility ExamplesUSPTO
- 2019-10-17Eligibility examplesSubject Matter Eligibility Examples 43-46 (October 2019 Update)USPTO
- 2019-01-08Supporting materialForm Paragraphs for the 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Eligibility GuidanceUSPTO
- 2019-01-08Supporting materialSample Subject Matter Eligibility Rejection under the 2019 Revised GuidanceUSPTO
- 2019-01-07Eligibility examplesSubject Matter Eligibility Examples 37-42 (2019 PEG)USPTO
- 2019-01-07Supporting materialFrequently Asked Questions on the 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Eligibility GuidanceUSPTO
- 2016-12-15Eligibility examplesSubject Matter Eligibility Examples 1-36 (Dec. 2014 - Dec. 2016)USPTO
Other advance notices · 4
- 2025-10-24Advance notice of change to the MPEPAdvance Notice of Change to the MPEP to provide guidance on the use of PE2E Search's Similarity Search featureUSPTOAmends MPEP § 904
- 2025-10-24Advance notice of change to the MPEPAdvance notice of change to the MPEP with respect to false assertions or certifications of entity statusUSPTOAmends MPEP § 509.04
- 2025-01-17Advance notice of change to the MPEPRevised and New Form Paragraphs in View of Setting and Adjusting Patent Fees During Fiscal Year 2025USPTO
- 2025-01-14Advance notice of change to the MPEPRevised Form Paragraphs for Design Patents and ApplicationsUSPTOAmends MPEP chapter 1500