The Patent and Trademark Office is turning down patent applications from software designers.
The issues presented in these cases are fascinating to anybody with an interest in intellectual property. The PTO case that started all the fuss is called Bilski. Read it here . This case interprets Section 101 of the Patent Act to deny patents to process inventions that don’t physically transform an article and aren’t tied to a particular machine. Bilski is waiting an en banc hearing, but a couple of other cases have come out that are striking fear and disgust in the hearts of patent applicants and their lawyers. These are Wasynczuk and Langemyr . These cases could cost some software developers a great deal of money.
I’m inclined to favor the PTO’s position on these cases. It seems to me that the developers are trying to take out patents on mathematics, which belong in the public domain. The PTO says it will grant patents to software that is tied to one particular machine, or which requires two different machines. This is a highly technical field that has to evolve with the changes in technology.
Both sides of these cases have interesting arguments. The time you invest in studying them will be amply rewarded.
One Comment
I saw http://jurisvodcast.com/2008/07/24/good-news-software-patents-are-in-jeopardy/ and wanted to mention a useful site: http://www.FreePatentsOnline.com
It provides free patent searching, free PDF downloading, allows annoting documents and sharing them, and free alerts for new documents.
If you have a spot, a link to let your users know abou the site would be great.
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