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This is a list of software patents, which contains notable patents and patent applications involving computer programs (also known as a software patent). Software patents cover a wide range of topics and there is therefore important debate about whether such subject-matter should be excluded from patent protection. [1] However, there is no ...
It would stand in the way of real inventors and hence be mischievous to the public generally. [6] European patent law and Patent Cooperation Treaty instead of utility use the term industrial applicability. [7] Although it serves a similar purpose as the US utility and patentable subject matter requirements, it is more narrow in practice ...
Neither software nor computer programs are explicitly mentioned in statutory United States patent law.Patent law has changed to address new technologies, and decisions of the United States Supreme Court and United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) beginning in the latter part of the 20th century have sought to clarify the boundary between patent-eligible and patent ...
This is a list of special types of claims that may be found in a patent or patent application.For explanations about independent and dependent claims and about the different categories of claims, i.e. product or apparatus claims (claims referring to a physical entity), and process, method or use claims (claims referring to an activity), see Claim (patent), section "Basic types and categories".
A software patent is a patent on a piece of software, such as a computer program, library, user interface, or algorithm.The validity of these patents can be difficult to evaluate, as software is often at once a product of engineering, something typically eligible for patents, and an abstract concept, which is typically not.
Patents, also referred to as patents for invention, are the most widespread means of protecting technical inventions.The patent system is designed to contribute to the promotion of innovation and the transfer and dissemination of technology, to the mutual advantage of inventors, users of inventions and the general public.
In 1641, Samuel Winslow was granted the first patent in North America by the Massachusetts General Court for a new process for making salt. [18] The modern French patent system was created during the Revolution in 1791. [19] Patents were granted without examination since inventor's right was considered as a natural one.
Patent applications can be filed at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Prior to June 7, 1995, the duration of a US utility patent was 17 years from patent issuance. Since that date, the duration of the US utility patent is 20 years from the earliest effective filing date.