The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) recently reversed a final rejection based on § 101 by finding that a method for selecting individuals for a breeding program that recited the steps of “growing, selecting, and crossing” did integrate an “optimized [genome] estimation data set” judicial exception into practical application. These actionable steps and the distinct advantages the method represented over conventional breeding methods involving other types of genomic prediction described in the specification were instrumental in the PTAB’s findings. The inclusion of such actionable steps and description of the advantages of the subject matter of the application may be useful to support amendments that may be necessary to overcome § 101 rejections.<... Read more