Bilski not touching the issue of software patents

Summary:

The decision on the Bilski case has been published by the specialized patent court in the US (CAFC - Court of Appeal of the Federal Circuit). The judges says that the Bilski case is not helpful to draw the line between what is patentable and what is not in the case of software patents.

Bilski not touching the issue of software patents

zoobab 30 Oct 2008 19:14

The decision on the Bilski case has been published today by the specialized patent court in the US (CAFC - Court of Appeal of the Federal Circuit). The judges says that the Bilski case is not helpful to draw the line between what is patentable and what is not in the case of software patents (see footnote nr 23, pages 21 and 22):

although invited to do so by several amici, we decline to adopt a broad exclusion over software or any other such category of subject matter beyond the exclusion of claims drawn to fundamental principles set forth by the Supreme Court … We also note that the process claim at issue in this appeal is not, in any event, a software claim. Thus, the facts here would be largely unhelpful in illuminating the distinctions between those software claims that are patent-eligible and those that are not.

So business patents might be scraped, but software patents are still there in the US. IBM might be happy.

When is the next Bilski with a pure software patent?

Last edited on 30 Oct 2008 19:14 by zoobab Show more

Re: Bilski not touching the issue of software patents

zoobab 30 Oct 2008 23:18

Read this last paragraph (last page 132, might not be relevant for the decision):

In simple terms, the statute does not mention “transformations” or any of the other Industrial Age descriptions of subject matter categories that this court endows with inordinate importance today. The Act has not empowered the courts to impose limitations on patent eligible subject matter beyond the broad and ordinary meaning of the terms process, machine, manufacture, and composition of matter. It has instead preserved the promise of patent protection for still unknown fields of invention.
Innovation has moved beyond the brick and mortar world. Even this court’s test, with its caveats and winding explanations seems to recognize this. Today’s software transforms our lives without physical anchors. This court’s test not only risks hobblng these advances, but precluding patent protection for tomorrow’s technologies. “We still do not know one thousandth of one percent of what nature has revealed to us.” Attributed to Albert Einstein. If this court has its way, the Patent Act may not incentivize, but complicate, our search for the vast secrets of nature. When all else fails, consult the statute.

Last edited on 30 Oct 2008 23:21 by zoobab Show more

Re: Bilski not touching the issue of software patents

schestowitz 30 Oct 2008 20:05

To those interested, here it is as HTML:

http://boycottnovell.com/forms/bilski/07-1130/07-1130.html

And here it is as a more complex HTML version with images:

http://boycottnovell.com/forms/bilski/07-1130_complex/07-1130.html