Software Patent Bits for April 2nd:
- The Patentability of Software and Business Methods after “In re Bilski”- [David R. Heckadon] –
"On Oct 30, 2008, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit handed down its highly anticipated decision in In re Bilski, (2007-1130, Fed. Cir. 2008). This case was expected to clarify whether and when business methods and software are patentable. This decision was an “en banc” decision, meaning that it was decided by all 12 judges (rather than the usual three judge panel).The case provided the nation’s highest patent court with the opportunity to review the controversial practice of allowing patents on methods of doing business. More broadly, however, the court used the opportunity to determine whether both (non-software) business method patents and software method patents are still allowable. As a result, Bilski was expected to be the one of the most important and far reaching patent law cases of the high technology era. "
- Few buyers at Ocean Tomo high-tech auction [SFGate] –
"A patent for a prepaid wireless phone system sold for $1.5 million Friday at an intellectual property auction at the Ritz-Carlton in San Francisco, but the sale was the high point in an otherwise bleak event: Of the 80-odd high-tech patents offered, only six sold and just eight others attracted bids."