What Is a “Machine”?

Western Oilfield Equipment Rentals Ltd v M-I LLC 2019 FC 1606 O'Reilly J
            2,664,173 / Shaker and Degasser Combination

A previous post described the facts and some miscellaneous legal points raised by Western Oilfield Eqpt v M-I. This post consider the best mode requirement, and in particular the question of what it means for an invention to be “a machine.”

Best Mode
O'Reilly J rejected Western’s insufficiency arguments on the basis that all of the putative defects in the disclosure were within the ability of a skilled person to address without inventive ingenuity: [141]-[144].

He also summarily rejected an attack based on failure to disclose the best mode, per s 27(3)(c), on the ground that:

that provision relates solely to machines and, as I understand the patent, it claims a method and a system, not a machine [146].

That the provision relates solely to machines is well established. It is clear on the face of the provision, which applies “in the case of a machine,” and has been confirmed in a few cases: see 2009 FC 676 [328-33]; 2010 FCA 242 [72-73]; 2014 FC 844. But what is a “machine”? To my knowledge, the question did not arise in the prior cases, all of which concerned a composition of matter (to use the statutory term), namely ramipril, sildenafil and polyethylene copolymers, which are clearly not machines.

It seems clear enough that a method is not a machine, but what about a system? The mere fact that the claim uses the word “system” cannot be enough to settle the point, or it would be easy to avoid application of the provision by appropriate wording. Indeed, most claims to what would normally be considered a machine do not use that term, but rather claim eg “a vertical feed mixer.”

On the facts, Claim 19 was as follows:

19. A system comprising:

a first screen having an upper side and a lower side for separating drill cuttings and

drilling fluid within a shaker; and

a pressure differential generator configured to pull air or vapor through the first screen to enhance the flow of drilling fluid through the first screen with respect to a second screen within the shaker in which the pressure differential generator does not create a pressure differential between an area above and an area below the second screen

It’s not entirely clear to me that this does not describe a machine. That is not to say that I disagree with O’Reilly J’s conclusion, but only that there is a puzzle. Screens and a vacuum pump are fairly ordinary components of a machine. Perhaps it is a system rather than a machine because the shaker itself is a machine, and the invention additionally comprises drilling fluid, which is not part of the shaker? While that seems reasonable enough, it is not particularly compelling, and it would desirable to have this interpretation buttressed by purposive considerations.

Turning to the Act, s 2 defines an “invention” to mean any new and useful “art, process, machine, manufacture or composition of matter.” The question then is whether the “system” at issue should be considered a “machine” rather than an “art” or perhaps a “composition of matter.” The answer does not seem clear as a matter of ordinary language. Unfortunately, purposive considerations do not help much in interpreting the provision, as there is no obvious policy for confining the best mode to machines (even though the text clearly does so). It seems this provision, introduced in the Patent Act, 1935 s 35, was modeled on the US Patent Act in effect at the time, which was similarly restricted to a machine, but the US Act has subsequently been amended to provide for a broader best mode requirement which is generally applicable. This makes it difficult to invoke purposive considerations in drawing the distinction between a “machine” and any other type of invention.

I’m inclined to think that confining the best mode requirement to machines is arbitrary. It would be better to either expand it to encompass all types of inventions, as was done in the US Act, or (preferably) eliminate it entirely. Until there is some clear purposive rationale for confining the best mode requirement to “machines,” the scope of the provision will necessarily be uncertain, and a restrictive approach to the interpretation of the provision, such as that applied by O'Reilly J, is probably the best approach, as it has the virtue of minimizing uncertainty. It would be very unfortunate if an expansive yet unclear definition of “machine” became a trap for unwary drafters.