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Article: Supreme Court to hear pivotal patent case
- Article from:
- Charleston Gazette
- Article date:
- November 9, 2009
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2009 Charleston Gazette. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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WASHINGTON - With the technology industry looking on, the Supreme
Court today will explore what types of inventions should be eligible
for a patent in a pivotal case that could undermine such legal
protections for software.
A ruling that sides with the Patent Office could bar patents on
processes and methods of doing business, such as online shopping
techniques, medical diagnostic tests and procedures for executing
trades on Wall Street. And it might even undercut patents on
software.
In a worst-case scenario for the high-tech industry, the ruling
could invalidate many existing software patents or at least make
them more difficult to defend in lawsuits. And it could make such
patents harder ...