Tag >> software patent

In the In Re Bilski case, the US Court of Appeal for the Federal Circuit has made a decision about what it takes for a process claim to be patentable.

On October 30, 2008, the United States Court of Appeal for the Federal Circuit has made a much anticipated decision in a case concerning a business method patent, the so-called In Re Bilski case.

The decision is expected to be of vital importance to the validity of process claims in general, but especially to software/computer-implemented processes and business methods. Concurrently with the fact that the decision tightens up the conditions for getting approved typically software patents and business method patents, at any rate it also verifies that it is possible to patent that kind of things at all.

The decision discusses what it takes


Prof. John F. Duffy analyses at Patently-O the probable position of the USPTO towards software patents as presented in a series of cases. Specifically, patentable subject matter must result in a physical transformation of an article that is tied to a particular machine. A general purpose computer may probably not be regarded as a particular machine, and data structures and numbers (e.g. webpage rankings) may probably neither be regarded as articles nor as being physically transformed. Well – some news for the software industry.

The analysis is recommended as being not only thorough but also quite easy to read.


Victoria Slind-Flor reports at http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601100&sid=at.BdRGGrFkk&refer=germany that the leading large firms in the area of WIMax technology pool their patents in this area in order to ease using the technology in consumer electronics.

 This step should reduce royalties, can anyone refer to such a step in other areas of


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