The Death of Google's Patents (Patently-O)

The Patently-O weblog has a detailed look at a couple of US Patent and Trade Office rulings which could change the software patent game significantly. "If the PTO's test is followed, the crucial question for the vitality of patents on computer implemented inventions is whether a general purpose computer qualifies as a 'particular' machine within the meaning of the agency's test. In two recent decisions announced after the oral arguments in the Bilski case, Ex parte Langemyr (May 28, 2008) and Ex parte Wasynczuk (June 2, 2008), the PTO Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences has now supplied an answer to that question: A general purpose computer is not a particular machine, and thus innovative software processes are unpatentable if they are tied only to a general purpose computer." (Thanks to Duncan).

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