Patents on Software Already Being Invalidated in Courts Owing to SCOTUS Ruling on 'Abstract' Patents

Dr. Roy Schestowitz

2014-07-18 20:03:39 UTC
Modified: 2014-07-20 09:12:26 UTC

There are software patents even on progress bars

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Summary: The Federal Circuit Appeals Court has just "invalidated a software patent for being overly abstract," says a patents expert

Some days ago we noted that the USPTO had begun rejecting software patents owing to a SCOTUS decision. Thankfully, the subject of software patents is back in the headlines (not "trolls"), with articles like "Kickstarting an Old Patent System for the New Software Era". More fantastic news from the US (regarding software patents) seemed to suggest that the tide is changing, as CAFC -- not just the USPTO -- destroys software patents (both CAFC and USPTO the are software patents maximalists). Here is some new coverage of it:

On Friday we got our first taste of the practical consequences of last month's landmark decision from the Supreme Court restricting patents on software. The Federal Circuit Appeals Court, which hears appeals in all patent cases, invalidated a software patent for being overly abstract. And the reasoning of the decision could lead to a lot of other software patents going down in flames, too.

This is exciting news. Some of the most pro-software patents entities are now forced to obey the guidance from SCOTUS. This is a real change and one that the corporate media has not been covering. After the Bilski ruling we saw something similar. ⬆

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