UK High Court Allows Software Patent Claims

An anonymous reader tips us to a note up on the IPKat blog, written by one of the four law-professor types behind that venture. The British High Court has ruled on appeal that the UK Patent Office must not reject software patent applications out of hand, as it has been doing for some time now. "In a surprising (to this Kat at least) turn of events, the Honourable Mr Justice Kitchin has ruled today that the current UK Patent Office practice of flatly rejecting patent claims to computer program products is wrong... Kitchin J found that the appeals should be allowed. Each application concerned a computer related invention where the examiner had allowed claims to, in effect, a method performed by running a suitably programmed computer and to a computer programmed to carry out the method... The cases were remitted to the [UK Intellectual Property Office] for further consideration in light of the judgment."

Welcome

[nurb432]

Welcome to the party, our British cousins.

Is it tea time yet?

Yay!

[pavera]

Well, all I can say is I'm happy I don't live in the only completely backwards developed country in the world anymore! Welcome to the bottom rung of the ladder UK! I think there's room here next to us lowly US techies.

Re:sad news

[christurkel]

Welcome to the USA.

Re:Once upon a time....

[Anonymous Coward]

FYI, some of us don't have slashdot accounts. It lets us pretend that this is just a passing phase, and that we'll be reclaiming this block of time from our daily lives Real Soon Now.

Just the perspective of someone who's been reading for a bit more than half a decade now and still doesn't want to admit it.

Re:Hasn't anyone picked up on writing software?

[Layth]

Tey don't call them "Al Gore"-ithms for nothing, ya know.

Re:Software should be protected by patent alone

[LingNoi]

Can I get a copyright on 2+2=4?

No, but I'll give you a patent on it, forcing everyone else to use 3+1=4!

Re:Welcome

[drseuk]

It brings the UK back in line with the rest of Europe; for a while, we were the only place disallowing any form of software patent.

"At least you can count on my support and that of the other millions of Daily Mail / Torygraph readers after they've finished choking on their dentures then. They won't be able to understand what a software patent is anymore than I do but "thought taxes" as you call them sound dreadful. No matter - anything that the EU is "forcing" on This England, *especially* if the Yanks are colluding with the French over it is as obviously un-British as ... and must be stopped on the beaches at all cost ... send for the Women's Institute ... Battle of Britain ... during the war ... " - continued on page 197 ...

My dad's reaction after he spotted your post on my screen.