Machine Learning and Patent Eligibility: Recent Court Guidance and Strategy

This CLE webinar will guide patent attorneys on the Federal Circuit's recent decisions, including Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute v. Amazon.com Inc., addressing machine learning and AI claims and patent eligibility. The panel will discuss the lessons from these decisions and offer best practices for patent drafting strategies in light of the recent decisions.

Machine learning has met nothing but roadblocks at the Federal Circuit but has received a clear path forward at the USPTO. This webinar will help practitioners navigate the path to patent eligibility under 35 U.S.C. § 101 for machine-learning inventions.

The Federal Circuit has twice struck down machine-learning patents for failing to recite patent eligible subject matter. First, in Recentive Analytics Inc. v. Fox Corp. et al. (April 2025), the Federal Circuit ruled on "whether claims that do no more than apply established methods of machine learning to a new data environment are patent eligible." The Federal Circuit held "they are not." Then, in February 2026, the Federal Circuit yet again struck down machine-learning claims in Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute v. Amazon.com, Inc. (nonprecedential). The Federal Circuit treated the claims as an abstract idea and found there was no inventive concept under Alice’s step two. 

In contrast, the USPTO designated Ex parte Desjardins as precedential in November 2025. There, the Appeals Review Panel found machine-learning claims patent eligible by relying on the Federal Circuit’s Enfish decision. The panel held that the claims recited a technological improvement in “how the machine learning model itself operates.”

Patent counsel should carefully consider the lessons from recent court decisions and USPTO guidance. What can an applicant do to demonstrate the patent eligibility of AI, including machine learning? How will the USPTO handle the question of subject matter eligibility for AI under its more expansive stance? How should patent practitioners manage to meet the standards being used by both the USPTO and the Federal Circuit?

Listen as our authoritative panel of patent attorneys addresses the Federal Circuit's recent decisions and the lessons that can be learned for AI-related 101 challenges. The panel will also discuss the USPTO’s guidance on AI and machine learning and will offer best practices for patent drafting strategies and defending against § 101 challenges in the courts.