Patent Agent USPTO Registration Exam Prep

Answer: C - MPEP § 2106(IV)(B)(2)(b)(i), under the heading “Safe Harbors,” subheading “Independent Physical Acts (Post-Computer Process Activity),” states that “[e]xamples of this type of statutory process include …[a] method of controlling a mechanical robot which relies upon storing data in a computer that represents various types of mechanical movements of the robot, using a computer processor to calculate positioning of the robot in relation to given tasks to be performed by the robot, and controlling the robot ’s movement and position based on the calculated position.” (A) is a true statement, and is therefore an incorrect answer. As set forth in MPEP § 2105 a “ new mineral discovered in the earth or a new plant found in the wild is not patentable subject matter.” (B) is an incorrect answer. As set forth in MPEP § 2106(IV)(B)(2)(b)(i), under the heading “Safe Harbors,” subheading “Manipulation of Data Representing Physical Objects or Activities (Pre-Computer Process Activity),” states that “[e]xamples of claimed processes that do not limit the claimed invention to pre-computing safe harbor include: . . . - selecting a set of arbitrary measurement point values ([In re] Sarkar, 588 F.2d [1330] at 1331, 200 USPQ [132] at 135).” (D) is an incorrect answer. MPEP § 2106(IV)(B)(2)(b)(i) under the heading “Safe Harbors,” subheading “Independent Physical Acts (Post-Computer Process Activity),” states that “[e]xamples of claimed process that do not achieve a practical application include:-step of ‘updating alarm limits’ found to constitute changing the number value of a variable to represent the result of the calculation (Parker v. Flook, 437 U.S.584, 585, 198 USPQ 193, 195 (1978).” (E) is a true statement, and therefore is an incorrect answer. MPEP § 2106(IV)(B)(1), under the heading “Nonstatutory Subject Matter” states “[In re]Warmerdam, 33 F.3d [1354,] at 1361, 31 USPQ2d [1754,] at 1760 (claim to a data structure per se held nonstatutory).”