software

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled this week that software based on an abstract idea isn't eligible for patent protection, Politico reports. The decision in Alice Corporation Pty. Ltd. v. CLS Bank International did not end the patentability of all software nor provide a clearer test for when software can be patented, Politico further reports.

The U.S. Supreme Court seemed skeptical of changing how software patents are enforced during oral argument Monday, Re/code reports: "On Monday, the court heard arguments in a case that could have far-reaching implications for the software industry, as the justices took up the issue of whether the Patent Act authorizes the granting of patents on software based on abstract ideas."

Alice Corp. argues that its patents for its software, designed to reduce the risk of non-payments, were infringed by CLS Bank International, but some of the justices questioned how its patents weren't just a computer version of an unpatentable abstract idea, Re/code said.

The U.S. Supreme Court is slated to hear arguments tomorrow on whether software can continue to be patented, The Washington Post reports: "The case, Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank, focuses on software built to eliminate 'settlement risk' in currency and financial transactions where money is held in escrow and one party could renege on a deal and leave the other holding the bag. Alice Corp. claims that CLS Bank offers a service that infringes on its patent."

In a 1981 case, the court ruled that patents for inventions that tied a computer program to a real-world application were permissible, but patents involving solely a "mathemetical forumula" were not, The Post reports.

The U.S. Supreme Court has taken a case involving the issue of when software is patentable, The Wall Street Journal reports. The tech world is divided on where to draw the line on when software can be patented and when it can't: "On one side lie technology giants such as Google Inc., Facebook Inc., and Intuit Inc., which largely believe the Patent & Trademark Office has issued too many software patents in recent years, and would like to see courts apply a more exacting standard when reviewing them. On the other, lies a collection of big and small technology companies, including International Business Machines Corp., which worry that tighter standards on software patents could hurt innovation," The Journal further reports.