Software patent

Software patents and patents on computer-implemented inventions (CII) are a class of patents and one of many legal aspects of computing. There is intense debate as to what extent such patents should be granted, if any.

Notes

• {{fnb|1}} Amendment 23 introduced on September 2003 by the European Parliament to the proposed Directive on the patentability of computer-implemented inventions http://www.europarl.eu.int/meetdocs/committees/itre/20030219/488498en.pdf, "Dispositionsprogramm decision" (BGH 22/6/1976), Nordic Patent Law treaty.
• {{fnb|2}} Amendments 23, 24, 25, 39 and 40 introduced by the European Parliament to the proposed Directive on the Patentability of CII http://www.europarl.eu.int/meetdocs/committees/itre/20030219/488498en.pdf
• {{fnb|3}} Decision T 59/93 of the Boards of Appeal of the European Patent Office, Reasons, point 3.4 http://legal.european-patent-office.org/dg3/biblio/t930059eu1.htm
• {{fnb|4}} i.e. "Software" that does not run on a computer. Used to be frequently argued before the EPO and other fora; this construction was explicitly rejected by the EU directive in article 4a.
• {{fnb|5}} Because such functional benefits would be technical, and therefore should be patentable subject matter, according to supporters of broader definitions of CII patentability.