12/05/2025
If you have filed a patent application in the last decade—especially for software, AI, or medical diagnostics—you likely know the dreaded "Section 101" rejection. This is where the examiner claims your invention is just an "abstract idea" or "mental process."
But as of yesterday, December 4, 2025, the strategy for fighting these rejections has shifted dramatically.
New USPTO Director John Squires has issued two massive memos that serve as a Game Changer for Software and AI Patents. In this video, I break down the new "SMED" (Subject Matter Eligibility Declaration) and why the Patent Office is effectively inviting applicants to stop arguing and start proving eligibility with facts.
In this article and video I explain:
The "SMED" Strategy: Why shifting from attorney argument to sworn factual declarations is the new preferred path for Subject Matter Eligibility.
In re Desjardins: The precedential decision regarding machine learning and "catastrophic forgetting" that opens doors for AI patenting.
3 Real-World Examples: How to use a SMED for Network Security (Mental Process), AI/Neural Networks, and Computer Animation.
The procedural warning from the Director about keeping your Section 101 and Section 103 evidence separate.
If you have a pending application stuck in a rejection, or if you are about to file for a high-tech invention, you need to understand how to use evidentiary declarations to support your claims.
