U.S. Supreme Court Rules Against Patents For Abstract Ideas

The U.S. Supreme Court that using a computer to implement an abstract idea does not make that invention eligible for a patent.

At issue in the case, : Do software inventions get the same kind of patent protections as other inventions?

The justices, in their decision, upheld a lower court ruling that invalidated Alice Corp.'s patents, which were challenged by CLS International. But, as : "[T]he Supreme Court leaves room for software patents, just not those that take an abstract idea and provide for a computer to implement it."

The Associated Press reports:

"The justices ruled unanimously that the government should not have issued a patent to Alice Corp. in the 1990s because the company simply took an abstract idea that has been around for years and programmed it to run through a computer.

"The decision makes clear that to obtain a patent, a company's idea must actually improve how a computer functions or make other technical advancements."

And here's more from on the impact of the decision: "The case is more of a stepping stone than pathbreaking."

Technology companies like Google and Facebook were closely watching the case and had urged clearer rules for software patents.

NPR's Laura Sydell on the case, providing some background:

"Alice Corp. on a process of verifying payment on a computer. The company says it's a special method. Alice Corp. is what is called a nonpracticing entity — known pejoratively as a 'patent troll.' "

"They don't in fact sell a software or a program," Mark Lemley, a law professor at Stanford University, told Laura.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/06/19/323568684/supreme-court-rules-against-patents-for-abstract-ideas