US Supreme Court to rule on what kinds of software can be protected by patent law, with technology companies set to be affected.
The Guardian reported that the US Supreme Court is looking into whether mathematical formulae should be protected by patent law, and if so, to what extent; determining what kinds of software should be eligible for patent protection.
The case could help to decide under what circumstances companies can be sued for using certain types of software in their products and has the potential to affect how many technology companies value their intellectual property; with HP being among several companies that have “signalled their interest” in the case.
The article states that patents are awarded only if they include an “inventive step” and are “non-obvious”; with US patent specialist lawyers Kelley Drye & Warren explaining: “The issue with computer-implemented inventions typically is whether the patent is simply claiming some broad mathematical concept, thought process or other basic tool of innovation.
“The concern is that giving someone exclusive rights to basic tools of innovation (mathematical equations) would keep others from using those tools, thus stifling innovation: how much progress would be made if only one person was allowed to use addition, subtraction or multiplication[?]”
Should the US Supreme Court rule that certain software cannot be patented, for example those that carry out mathematical calculations, “substantial amounts” could be eliminated from the intellectual property of a number of companies, with many smartphones using such calculations to connect to wireless and mobile networks.
According to the article, legal experts have over recent years claimed that courts are upholding patents “on ideas that are too vague to deserve protection” as the amount of computer-based products increases, leading to large technology companies spending money otherwise invested in research and development to defend lawsuits. However, so far the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has so far failed to adopt a test that can be used by judges to review software patent claims, resulting in inconsistencies.
The US Patent Act states that patents can be awarded to anyone who “invents or discovers a new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter”, or who can improve an existing one; with an invention related to an abstract idea able to be patented if it includes “a way of applying the idea”. The article adds that in essence, the question is down to “how innovative an invention should be to receive legal protection”.
Dennis Crouch, a professor at the University of Missouri School of Law, commented: “My hope is that this case will be a vehicle for the Supreme Court to clarify the law so that we can get back to business rather than playing language games at the patent office.”