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Article: Computers and the patent system: the problem of the second step.
- Article from:
- Rutgers Computer & Technology Law Journal
- Article date:
- March 22, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 Rutgers University School of Law - Newark. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The proper scope of patent protection for computerized algorithms is one of the most controversial questions in modern patent law. Everyone has an opinion. To some, broad patent protection for computer algorithms properly updates the patent system for the Internet age. (1) To others, it signals a dramatic and unwarranted expansion of the scope of patentability. (2) The appropriate scope of protection for computerized algorithms has proved to be a remarkably difficult question. After almost forty years of debate and case law development, (3) we seem no closer to a consensus than when we started.
I will not attempt to resolve this thorny question here. Instead, I ...