On Tuesday the USPTO published its report on views and recommendations from the public on patent eligible subject matter. The 60-page tome, which goes through the litany of recent changes to section 101 of the US patent statute and details contributions made at the series of public consultations that the agency has carried out over the last year, has much that would be familiar to any keen patent market watcher.

The report is not an advocacy document and is therefore not designed to influence the patent reform debate in one direction or another. But it does conclude that a majority of those who took part in the consultation process favour legislative change to 101. “A call for legislation was particularly strong from the life sciences industry but also had many supporters from computer-related industries,” the PTO wrote. “According to these participants, the [Supreme] Court’s precedent is having such a harmful impact on innovation and business development that a legislative solution is critical.”

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Some observers have picked up on this to suggest the most likely path to elgibility reform. “If there is a case for narrowing 101, it is in medical diagnostics, and that is also where the opposition is likely to be weakest, so that is where I think reformers should focus their efforts,” comments Stanford law professor Mark Lemley.