Stratus cloud Stratus cloud Stratus clouds are low-level clouds characterized by horizontal layering with a uniform base, as opposed to convective or cumuliform clouds that are formed by rising thermals. More specifically, the term "stratus" is used to describe flat, hazy, featureless clouds of low altitude varying in color from dark gray to nearly white. The word "stratus" comes from the Latin prefix "strato-", meaning "layer". Stratus clouds may produce a light drizzle or a small amount of snow. These clouds are essentially above-ground fog formed either through the lifting of morning fog or through cold air moving at low altitudes over
Machine-or-transformation test generally insufficient to make an otherwise ineligible method claim patent-eligible. The PTO Guidance Memo explains that "[t]his means the machine or transformation must impose meaningful limits on the method claim's scope [for it] to pass the test." What makes a limitation meaningful is unstated, but perhaps that concept can be defined in terms of whether the limitation places only an insubstantial limitation on claim scope or preemptiveness. The second corollary is that insignificant extra-solution activity will not transform a patent ineligible principle into a patentable process. The PTO Guidance Memo explains that "[t]his means reciting a specific machine or a