Over the last few weeks we have discussed the impact of Alice on patents, and determined that it is still possible to obtain software patents post-Alice. We saw patent litigation suit filings close to all-time highs. Although filing one or more litigation suits is certainly a viable way to monetize your patents, it is far […]

Question: If the USPTO grants me a patent on software, will courts use similar standards in upholding my invention as being patentable? Answer: Yes. Courts have followed the Alice guidelines in finding software inventions patentable. In fact, observers have found that many courts are broader than the USPTO in their approach to patentable subject matter. […]

Question: If the USPTO denies me a patent because my invention is related to software, can I have success appealing to the Patent Trial and Appeals Board (PTAB)? Answer: Yes. Many applicants for software patents have successfully obtained a patent by appealing to the PTAB after the USPTO rejected their patent application. The PTAB is […]

By all accounts, 2015 was a remarkable year for patents. A new milestone was reached as the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued patent number 9,000,000 in April. In fact, the USPTO granted almost 300,000 patents in 2015. Patent application filings were up, with more US patent applications filed in the 2015 fiscal […]

Yes, software is patentable. Although some commentators declared that Alice heralded the end of software patents, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will not deny a patent on an invention simply because the invention is related to software. In its July 2015 Update on Patent Subject Matter Eligibility, the USPTO provided the following […]