LOGIN | REGISTER NOW | SUBSCRIBE
 
print Printable version 
Most Read Latest News Blog Resources
Three non-programming books for your booklist
Aside from programming skills, developers should know how management works and how to oper...
A fast start for an open-source cloud
Three developers from the OpenStack project talk about its already-thriving community and ...
Integration Watch: The intractability of parallel programming
Not much progress has been made in the field of parallel programming. What can be done to ...
Windows & .NET Watch: LightSwitch turns up
Microsoft's newest development environment will need to go a long way to fulfill its poten...
Digg!  Digg
Reddit  Reddit
Slashdot  Slashdot
Share on facebook  Facebook
Share on Twitter  Twitter


            iphoneapp GET THE APP!

U.S. Supreme Court set to hear Bilski v. Kappos


By Alex Handy
October 30, 2009 —  (Page 1 of 2)
The United States Supreme Court will hear a patent case on Nov. 9 that has implications for both method and software patents, and it has gained widespread attention from industry groups, professors and businesses looking to influence the high court’s thinking.

But at least one lawyer expects that the decision made in this case will not fix anything at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

James Grimmelmann, associate professor at the New York School of Law, said that history shows that similar patent litigation does not stop trolls from getting through the process. He said the case of Bilski v. Kappos focuses narrowly on patent subject matter, and that could make it hard for the Supreme Court to create meaningful legislative guides from the case.

Litigation has prompted the USPTO to make software patents harder to obtain than any other type of patent (except for business methods), said Mark A. Lemley, a professor of law at Stanford Law School and director of Stanford's program in law, science and technology, in an April interview.

Grimmelmann was skeptical that the USPTO can stay ahead of the curve. “I think this case, and most cases on the subject matter [of patents], don't matter, because even if the Supreme Court states a rule that purports to say software patents are out, it's hard to keep clever applicants from disguising the patent well enough to get it past the patent office and the courts. Cases on subject matter have this real history of not actually affecting which patents get granted."

Grimmelmann continued: “What happens is that patent applicants in the future change their claims to match whatever test the courts state, even if the underlying invention is the same. The Supreme Court rejected an attempted patent on an algorithm for converting from binary-coded-decimal to binary in the Gottschalk v. Benson case in 1972. It took a while, but patent applicants learned that by being more specific about the computer and its hardware, they could get software patents past the way courts implemented the Benson test."

 Related Search Term(s): software patents

Pages 1 2 


Share this link: http://www.sdtimes.com/link/33871
 

Add comment


Name*
Email*  
Country     


  • Comment
  • Preview
Loading



 
 
 
 
News on Monday
more>>
SharePoint Tech Report
more>>


   

 
 
Download Current Issue
ISSUE 9/1/2010 PDF

Need Back Issues?
DOWNLOAD HERE

Receive the print Edition?


 
blogs tab
VMworld hops to it
Data center operating systems play a big part at VMworld, but it's still too soon.
09/02/2010 01:42 PM EST

Certificate program for secure cloud computing
The Cloud Security Alliance introduces user certification.
09/01/2010 04:20 PM EST

What does the Army's Crusher tank and RIM's tablet computer have in common?
RIM plans to use Crusher tank technology on its yet-to-be-announced tablet.
08/25/2010 04:16 PM EST

 

Events calendar tab
Intel Developer Forum
9/13/2010 to 9/15/2010
San Francisco
Intel

JavaOne & Oracle Develop
9/19/2010 to 9/23/2010
San Francisco
Oracle

Oracle OpenWorld
9/19/2010 to 9/23/2010
San Francisco
Oracle

ESC Boston
9/20/2010 to 9/23/2010
Boston
TechInsights

High Performance Computing Financial Markets
9/20/2010
New York City
Flagg Management