By Michael Borella and Walter DeGroft[1] — Each year since 2021, we have examined how the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) has been deciding appeals of § 101 rejections from examiners.[2] And so far, the numbers have been remarkably similar. 2024 was no exception — applicants continued to face affirmance rates that were not only very high, but stubbornly consistent with prior years. The story here is not one of progress or meaningful change, but of inertia where an entrenched status quo provides predictability by denying patents for a wide range of inventions. The…
