Supreme Court weighs 'obviousness' of patents

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Copyright instead of Patent?

Well the problem is that software can qualify under both kinds of protection, depending.
Software that implements and controls physical processes, e.g. a robot, a NC tool, a hard disc drive should be patentable as part of that whole invention. Other software implements well-defined "new" algorithms such as a specific process for generating data encryption or doing face-recognition.
But most software, most of the so-called "applications" merely plugs together well-understood methods and procedures to automate or implement common tasks like tax preparation, scheduling, credit scoring, transaction processing, etc. The way it is done by one programmer is usually unique from the way it would be done by another but the end results are often strikingly alike given a similar set of specifications.
One problem I see here is, I think that copyrights last far longer than patents and can be renewed more easily.
But a deepeer problem is that copyright protects a specific configuration or string of tokens and not the ideas or principles they embody, while a patent is nearly the reverse in that it protects the idea or principle regardless of whether another product looks similar as long as it doesn't do the same function in the same way.
Here is an example: A baseball bat cannot be patented, but a specific method of using an aluminum tube joined with a shock absorbing handle and encased in a cellular plastic skin that all becomes a baseball bat is patentable. Likewise a program that distributes incoming transaction packets to application processes is commonplace, unless the distribution method used implements a new algorithm that is measurably faster or "smarter" than any previous method that has been used.
No, I like the present lawsuit and the discussion it raises. I think its important to wrestle with what is patentable and what is not. I think the present patent law obviously allows way too many "tricks" and "pseudo-innovations" to be awarded a patent, enabling patent holders and patent trolls to make a business out of mere ownership instead of actual work. On the other hand defining just what makes one idea "innovative" enough to merit patent protection is not an easy task.

Posted by: metajohn@...   Posted on: 11/28/06 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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