Comments on: Supreme Court Retracts Patent Protection http://www.scotusblog.com/wp/supreme-court-retracts-patent-protection/ The Supreme Court of the United States blog Thu, 26 Jun 2008 21:56:34 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 hourly 1 By: Morgan Reed http://www.scotusblog.com/wp/supreme-court-retracts-patent-protection/comment-page-1/#comment-11160 Morgan Reed Mon, 30 Apr 2007 20:57:33 +0000 http://www.scotusblog.com/wp/uncategorized/supreme-court-retracts-patent-protection/#comment-11160 While I generally agree with Mr. Crouch, and love his <a href="http://patentlaw.typepad.com/" rel="nofollow">Patently-O</a> blog, I think there is a strong possibility that the KSR decision may improve the state of patents in the software world, and actually make patents _more_ valuable. <p> Software patents (method patents to be precise) are seen in a very negative light by some in the software industry. They are not looked at as a tool that advances the state of the art, nor as guides for the next generation of programmers. <p> Instead, they are seen by some as nothing more than an opportunist's playground, filled with patents on ideas that are common in the real world, or appear to be granted without even a hint of prior art research (Creative vs. Apple anyone?). <p> If the KSR decision gives examiners the ability to dump some of these patents on the front side, software patents may become a more useful tool for incentivizing creativity. <p> Making bad patents easier to invalidate isn't necessarily a bad thing. The question that remains is, "will the USPTO take this to heart and allow examiners to kick out the weak-sister patents and overbroad claims that have plagued our industry"? <p> </p></p></p></p></p> While I generally agree with Mr. Crouch, and love his Patently-O blog, I think there is a strong possibility that the KSR decision may improve the state of patents in the software world, and actually make patents _more_ valuable.

Software patents (method patents to be precise) are seen in a very negative light by some in the software industry. They are not looked at as a tool that advances the state of the art, nor as guides for the next generation of programmers.

Instead, they are seen by some as nothing more than an opportunist’s playground, filled with patents on ideas that are common in the real world, or appear to be granted without even a hint of prior art research (Creative vs. Apple anyone?).

If the KSR decision gives examiners the ability to dump some of these patents on the front side, software patents may become a more useful tool for incentivizing creativity.

Making bad patents easier to invalidate isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The question that remains is, “will the USPTO take this to heart and allow examiners to kick out the weak-sister patents and overbroad claims that have plagued our industry”?

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