Software Program Patent Protection
Patent protection plays an increasingly important role in protecting the intellectual property rights of companies and entrepreneurs. While computer hardware has always been considered patentable subject matter, at one time it was more difficult to qualify software technology as patentable subject matter. In the early days of computer software, the USPTO and the courts of the United States disfavored patent protection for software. Accordingly, many software inventions were not patented, but were instead either registered for copyright protection, or retained as trade secrets.
In 1981, the US Supreme Court decision in Diamond v. Diehr overturned the prohibition against patents on computer-related inventions. Today, essentially all software that is new, useful and not obvious is patentable. This includes software for accounting, general business, communications, and word processing. Even though software patents have proven as enforceable as other types of patents, patent protection for software is sometimes overlooked or ignored. Companies now need to realize that software patents are enforced and can protect increasingly valued and sought after intellectual property assets.
A key to obtaining adequate patent protection for software is the proper drafting of the patent specification and claims. We have expertise in the rules, procedures , software examination process and in obtaining software patents and are familiar with the ways in which to craft and prosecute computer software patent applications in order to avoid critical pitfalls. We also stay abreast of foreign legal developments in software patents.
