In Re HEALY

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
• Decided: August 7, 2025
• Docket: 24-2311
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

Case: 24-2311 Document: 31 Page: 1 Filed: 08/07/2025

NOTE: This disposition is nonprecedential.

United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ______________________

IN RE: NOAH P. HEALY, Appellant ______________________

2024-2311 ______________________

Appeal from the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Patent Trial and Appeal Board in No. 15/171,621. ______________________

Decided: August 7, 2025 ______________________

NOAH P. HEALY, Charlottesville, VA, pro se.

OMAR FAROOQ AMIN, Office of the Solicitor, United States Patent and Trademark Office, Alexandria, VA, for appellee Coke Morgan Stewart. Also represented by KAKOLI CAPRIHAN, AMY J. NELSON. ______________________

Before MOORE, Chief Judge, CUNNINGHAM, Circuit Judge, and SCARSI, District Judge.1

1 Honorable Mark C. Scarsi, District Judge, United States District Court for the Central District of California, sitting by designation. Case: 24-2311 Document: 31 Page: 2 Filed: 08/07/2025

2 IN RE: HEALY

PER CURIAM. Noah P. Healy appeals a decision of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board sustaining the examiner’s rejection of all pending claims of U.S. Patent Application No. 15/171,621 as patent ineligible under 35 U.S.C. § 101. Ex parte Noah P. Healy, No. 2023-002702, 2024 WL 3440209 (P.T.A.B. July 16, 2024) (“Decision”). We affirm. I. BACKGROUND Mr. Healy is the named inventor on the ’621 applica- tion, entitled “System and Method of Price Discovery for Exchange Market.” J.A. 48. The ’621 application is di- rected to systems and methods “for discovering and pub- lishing clearing prices of commodities within exchange markets.” J.A. 80; see also J.A. 81–82 (“method for operat- ing a commodity market through a coordinate discovery market”). The application explains that “exchange mar- kets traditionally work by constantly maintaining a bal- ance between supply and demand” by changing the price of commodities. J.A. 49 ¶ 4. The application also states that conventional methods and systems for operating exchange markets “are roughly nine centuries old,” “would be recog- nizable to early Renaissance Venetians,” and “suffer from well-known flaws, such as manipulative practices, money laundering, and crash instability.” J.A. 48 ¶ 3. The ’621 application purports to overcome these draw- backs of conventional exchange markets, as well as addi- tional challenges posed by technological advances, by proposing “a different logical construct for an exchange market, which dictates a different set of rules for interac- tion of the relevant participants.” J.A. 48 ¶ 2. The claimed invention purportedly “link[s] a positive sum forecasting market to a negative sum clearing house in a mutually neg- ative reinforcement control loop” by “providing a temporal sequence of clearing prices and accepting future price spec- ulation from speculators along with an investment,” com- bining the investments “into a bett[o]r pool,” and paying Case: 24-2311 Document: 31 Page: 3 Filed: 08/07/2025

IN RE: HEALY 3

“the speculators who most correctly predicted the future prices” using “a pari-mutuel payout.” J.A. 50 ¶ 7. This method separates speculation from trading “so that specu- lator incentives can be inverted to align with producers and consumers” while still allowing producers and consumers “to utilize the pricing information provided by speculators when determining how much of a commodity to buy or sell.” Id. ¶ 8. Claim 1 is illustrative: 1. . . . A system for discovering and publishing clearing prices of commodities within exchange markets, the system comprising: an intermediary market server configured to receive, aggregate, and publish pricing information to and from participants, which, using a telecommunication net- work, simultaneously publishes prices and predictions on clearing prices for a plural- ity of commodities to at least one speculator device associated with a speculator com- prising a graphical user interface, at least one producer device associated with a pro- ducer of at least one commodity comprising a graphical user interface, and at least one consumer device associated with a con- sumer of at least one commodity compris- ing a graphical user interface; wherein the at least one speculator device, via the graphical user interface, exchanges data with the intermediary market server related to purchasing interests in at least one commodity of the plurality of commod- ities according to a different logical con- struct that dictates a different set of rules for interaction of relevant participants by participant type, wherein speculators do Case: 24-2311 Document: 31 Page: 4 Filed: 08/07/2025

4 IN RE: HEALY

not directly perform any transactions with producers or consumers and do not pur- chase or handle any commodities, and in- stead provide predictions on clearing prices of the plurality of commodities backed by a financial investment placed with the inter- mediary market server, wherein the inter- mediary market server allocates returns on investments based on information meas- urement and provides a means to directly state a degree of influence of each partici- pant in the exchange markets, removing price and temporal priority to allow sepa- ration of speculation from trading so that speculator incentives are inverted to align with producers and consumers; wherein the at least one producer device, via the graphical user interface, exchanges data with the intermediary market server related to selling the at least one commod- ity; wherein the at least one consumer device, via the graphical user interface, exchanges data with the intermediary market server related to buying the at least one commod- ity; a clearing house module configured to re- ceive offers of sale, offers to buy, produce contracts for received offers, handle mone- tary payments related to transactions be- tween producers and consumers, and provide a volume seeking price discovery in the exchange markets and coordination on a non-zero sum basis in which all partici- pants are rewarded for realizing mutual Case: 24-2311 Document: 31 Page: 5 Filed: 08/07/2025

IN RE: HEALY 5

gains by making mutually consistent deci- sions; wherein, in response to transactions being processed by the intermediary market server between producers and consumers at a clearing price, the system tracks inter- actions of pluralities of different partici- pants at different times and measures information content of actions taken in roles of producer, consumer, and specula- tor, providing feedback as a four party com- modities market operates, and the system organizes information, measurements, presentation, and execution, transforming generated matched pairs of producers and consumers creating commodities transac- tions, providing rewards payments to spec- ulators based on accuracy of prediction for clearing prices of the commodities transac- tions that positively contribute to imple- ment a positive sum commodity market, and the speculator is rewarded from an in- vestment pool based on a level of accuracy and a calculation of a percentage of change from influence provided by each speculator prediction and investment to move a cur- rent price to an actual clearing price ac- cording to a pari-mutuel betting schema with a positive sum pari-mutuel infor- mation gathering provided by the system, wherein the at least one speculator device, and each contributing speculator, are paid a fraction of impact that each investment of the speculator or contributing speculator had on moving a current market price to- ward the actual clearing price of commodi- ties exchanged between producers and Case: 24-2311 Document: 31 Page: 6 Filed: 08/07/2025

6 IN RE: HEALY

consumers, with larger proportional gains returned for relatively bigger correct moves; wherein instances and opportunity for price manipulation and hedging in the marketplace are reduced, efficiency of the marketplace is increased, and cost of oper- ation is reduced, by having speculators di- rectly provide price information to the marketplace. J.A. 28–29. On April 12, 2022, an examiner rejected all of the ’621 application’s claims as patent ineligible under 35 U.S.C. § 101. J.A. 514–26; Decision at *2. The examiner concluded that the claims were directed to “a process that[] . . . covers fundamental economic principles and commercial or legal interactions.” J.A. 516; accord Deci- sion at *7. The examiner also determined that some addi- tional limitations described by the claims were described at such a high degree of generality as to “amount[] to no more than mere instructions to apply the abstract idea us- ing a generic computer component.” J.A. 522. The exam- iner concluded that “generally link[ing] the use of the abstract idea to a particular technological environment cannot provide an inventive concept.” J.A. 523. Mr. Healy subsequently appealed the examiner’s rejec- tions to the Board, J.A. 553, and the Board affirmed the examiner’s rejections of representative claim 1 and claims 2–20, which rise and fall with claim 1. Decision at *11. The Board rejected Mr. Healy’s arguments that claim 1 was di- rected to technological improvements, concluding that any improvements were improvements to the abstract ideas themselves, rather than to any computer components or technology. Id. at *8. The Board also agreed with the ex- aminer that the additional limitations in claim 1 were de- scribed “in general terms, without describing the Case: 24-2311 Document: 31 Page: 7 Filed: 08/07/2025

IN RE: HEALY 7

particulars,” such that the claims recite “conventional com- puter components and techniques.” See id. at *11. Mr. Healy filed this timely appeal. We have jurisdic- tion pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1295(a)(4)(A). II. DISCUSSION Patent eligibility under 35 U.S.C. § 101 is a question of law that may implicate underlying fact issues. In re Marco Guldenaar Holding B.V., 911 F.3d 1157, 1159 (Fed. Cir. 2018). “We review the Board’s ultimate conclusion on pa- tent eligibility de novo.” In re Killian, 45 F.4th 1373, 1378 (Fed. Cir. 2022). We review the Board’s underlying factual findings for substantial evidence. Customedia Techs., LLC v. Dish Network Corp., 951 F.3d 1359, 1362 (Fed. Cir. 2020). Section 101 defines patent-eligible subject matter as “any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof.” 35 U.S.C. § 101. The Supreme Court has long held that there are implicit exceptions in § 101: “Laws of nature, natural phenomena, and abstract ideas are not pa- tentable.” Ass’n for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genet- ics, Inc., 569 U.S. 576, 589 (2013) (citation omitted). To determine whether a patent claim is directed to patent-in- eligible subject matter under § 101, we apply the two-step framework set forth by the Supreme Court in Mayo Collab- orative Services v. Prometheus Laboratories, Inc., 566 U.S. 66 (2012) and Alice Corporation Pty. Ltd. v. CLS Bank In- ternational, 573 U.S. 208 (2014). At step one, we determine whether the claim is “di- rected to” a patent-ineligible concept. Alice, 573 U.S. at 217; accord Mayo, 566 U.S. at 77. At step two, we “con- sider the elements of each claim both individually and ‘as an ordered combination’ to determine whether the addi- tional elements ‘transform the nature of the claim’ into a patent-eligible application.” Alice, 573 U.S. at 217 (quoting Case: 24-2311 Document: 31 Page: 8 Filed: 08/07/2025

8 IN RE: HEALY

Mayo, 566 U.S. at 78–79). The Supreme Court has de- scribed the step two analysis “as a search for an ‘inventive concept.’” Id. at 217 (quoting Mayo, 566 U.S. at 72–73). A. As an initial matter, we reject Mr. Healy’s contention that the Board committed procedural error in failing to con- sider certain arguments. In particular, Mr. Healy appears to argue that the Board should have considered arguments he made in an office action response filed in 2022. Appel- lant’s Br. 3–4 (citing J.A. 437–59 (response dated Jan. 11, 2022)). However, contrary to Mr. Healy’s contention, he forfeited these arguments before the Board by failing to raise them in his appeal brief to the Board. See, e.g., 37 C.F.R. § 41.37(c)(1)(iv). Mr. Healy also appears to argue that the Board erred in failing to consider the withdrawal of the ’621 application after he paid the issue fee in November 2020. Appellant’s Br. 10; see also J.A. 349 (issue fee payment). However, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) has the authority to withdraw an application from issue because of the “[u]npatentability of one or more claims.” 37 C.F.R. § 1.313(b)(3); see also BlackLight Power, Inc. v. Rogan, 295 F.3d 1269, 1273 (Fed. Cir. 2002). In any event, Mr. Healy does not dispute that the ’621 application was withdrawn from issue to address the unpatentability of the pending claims. We thus reject Mr. Healy’s allega- tions of procedural error. B. As to step one, Mr. Healy first challenges the Board’s agreement with the examiner that claim 12 was directed to

2 On appeal, Mr. Healy argues that it was “im- proper” for the Board to treat claim 1 as representative. See Appellant’s Br. 2; see also Appellant’s Reply Br. 12. Case: 24-2311 Document: 31 Page: 9 Filed: 08/07/2025

IN RE: HEALY 9

an abstract idea, arguing that the claim does not recite “fundamental economic principles and commercial [or] le- gal interactions” and “was specifically drafted to avoid such categorization.” Appellant’s Br. 3 (quoting Decision at *7). Second, Mr. Healy argues that the Board improperly dis- counted evidence that claim 1 was directed to technical im- provements. Appellant’s Br. 6. The Board properly considered the patent application in determining that claim 1 was directed to a logical con- struct for exchange markets, which is a quintessential method of organizing human activity. See Decision at *7– 8. The specification explains that “process arrangement and the algorithms that support it allow the separation of speculation from trading so that speculator incentives can be inverted to align with producers and consumers.” J.A. 50 ¶ 8. Both the Supreme Court and this court have repeatedly affirmed that analogous systems and methods are patent ineligible. See Alice, 573 U.S. at 213, 219 (hold- ing that claims “designed to facilitate the exchange of fi- nancial obligations between two parties by using a computer system as a third-party intermediary” were di- rected to an abstract idea); Bancorp Servs., L.L.C. v. Sun Life Assur. Co. of Canada (U.S.), 687 F.3d 1266, 1280 (Fed. Cir. 2012) (holding that claims covering systems and methods of “managing a stable value protected life

However, because Mr. Healy failed to separately argue the patentability of the remaining claims, see J.A. 569–84, the Board was permitted to treat claim 1 as representative. See, e.g., Berkheimer v. HP Inc., 881 F.3d 1360, 1365 (Fed. Cir. 2018) (“Courts may treat a claim as representa- tive in certain situations, such as if the patentee does not present any meaningful argument for the distinctive sig- nificance of any claim limitations not found in the repre- sentative claim . . . .”); In re Lovin, 652 F.3d 1349, 1356–57 (Fed. Cir. 2011); see also 37 C.F.R. § 41.37(c)(1)(iv). Case: 24-2311 Document: 31 Page: 10 Filed: 08/07/2025

10 IN RE: HEALY

insurance policy by performing calculations and manipu- lating the results” were directed to an abstract idea). Mr. Healy next argues that the Board failed to consider how the claim “explicitly addresses technical improve- ments” in “[b]andwidth utilization,” “[s]ystem integration at scale,” “[c]omputing time optimization,” “[s]torage effi- ciency,” and “[h]eat dissipation management.” Appellant’s Br. 6. Mr. Healy, however, does not explain how claim 1 disclosed such improvements. Tellingly, before the Board, he argued that “[t]he integration of a practical application includes reducing market inefficiencies, including price manipulation and hedging, reducing complexity and thereby computing requirements, and the end result of such integration is the very practical application of reduc- ing the need for computing resources.” Decision at *8 (quoting J.A. 574). We conclude that any purported im- provements from the claimed invention are simply im- provements to the abstract idea, not specific improvements to the underlying technology. See, e.g., Recentive Analytics, Inc. v. Fox Corp., 134 F.4th 1205, 1212 (Fed. Cir. 2025); BSG Tech LLC v. Buyseasons, Inc., 899 F.3d 1281, 1288 (Fed. Cir. 2018). Therefore, the Board did not err in its step one analysis. C. Mr. Healy urges that the Board’s analysis “for both steps and both prongs of Alice” was improper. Appellant’s Br. 13. We disagree. At step two, the Board considered the additional limi- tations recited by claim 1, such as an intermediary market server, a telecommunication network, and a clearing house module, and determined that they merely amounted to “ge- neric computer-based elements along with no more than mere instructions to implement the identified abstract idea using the computer-based elements.” Decision at *11. We have explained that such elements that are specified “at a high level of generality” and “in functional terms” and that Case: 24-2311 Document: 31 Page: 11 Filed: 08/07/2025

IN RE: HEALY 11

“merely invoke[] well-understood, routine, conventional components and activity to apply the abstract idea” cannot supply an inventive concept. Elec. Commc’n Techs., LLC v. ShoppersChoice.com, LLC, 958 F.3d 1178, 1183 (Fed. Cir. 2020). Therefore, we hold that the claims do not recite an inventive concept and are patent ineligible under § 101. III. CONCLUSION We have considered Mr. Healy’s remaining arguments and find them unpersuasive. Accordingly, we affirm. AFFIRMED COSTS No costs.