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Dr. Lundgren's Patent Applications
History and Current Status of Two Patent Applications
Submitted by Carl Lundgren on Two Economic Inventions
- Invention 1: "Method and Apparatus for Preventing
Oligopoly Collusion," Serial No. 07/277,142, filed on November 29, 1988.
- History:
- Series of continuing applications.
Through 2001, the patent examiners had consistently
rejected the application on subject matter grounds.
These subject matter grounds claim that the
invention cannot be patented because it constitutes a
"mathematical algorithm" and/or a "method of doing business."
Through 2001, no patent examiner had examined the invention
on its merits, namely whether the invention is old, obvious,
useless, not clearly disclosed, or otherwise lacking in merit.
- On August 9, 1994, the patent examiner rejected
all claims solely on subject matter grounds.
On November 23, 1998 after appeal, a three-person panel of the Board
of Patent Appeals and Interferences overturned
the patent examiner's subject matter rejection.
On December 15, 1999, the group director chose to appeal
this three-person panel decision to a higher level of the Board
of Patent Appeals and Interferences.
On July 3, 2001, before the Board had ruled on this further appeal,
the case was assigned to a new patent examiner,
who withdrew the appeal.
The new examiner stated, "The claimed invention has been found
to be directed to statutory subject matter."
- After conducting an examination on the merits,
the new patent examiner was forced by superiors
to reject patentability based solely on subject matter grounds.
This rejection was appealed on June 18, 2003.
On April 20, 2004, oral argument on this second appeal
was heard before a five-person panel of the Board
of Patent Appeals and Interferences.
On September 28, 2005, the Patent and Trademark Office mailed its decision,
which is both published and precedential.
The five-person panel split three-to-two,
with the majority favoring patentability of the subject matter.
More specifically, the Board decided that there is
no separate "technological arts" requirement for patentable subject matter
beyond the statutory language of the patent law itself.
- A pdf copy of the decision can be downloaded from my website
here.
Alternatively, you may download a copy of the decision, Ex parte Lundgren,
directly from the Patent and Trademark Office's website at:
http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/dcom/bpai/prec/
- Current Status:
As of November 14, 2005, it is not yet known whether a patent will issue.
- Invention 2: "A Method of Motivating Unbiased Human
Predictions," Serial No. 07/495,772, filed on March 19,
1990. Retitled "Method of Eliciting Unbiased Forecasts by
Relating a Forecaster's Pay to the Forecaster's Contribution
to a Collective Forecast" in Continuation-in-Part
application (containing both old and new material), Serial
No. 08/008,340, filed on January 25, 1993.
- History:
- Series of continuing applications, including one
continuation-in-part application listed above. Until 1996,
the patent examiners consistently rejected the application on
subject matter grounds. These subject matter grounds claim that
the invention cannot be patented because it constitutes a
"mathematical algorithm" and/or a "method of doing business." No
patent examiner has stated that the invention is old, obvious,
useless, not clearly disclosed, or otherwise lacking in merit.
- Current Status:
- All 21 claims allowed. The patent was
issued as U.S. Patent 5,608,620 on March 4, 1997.
- For additional information, please contact
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