Software Patents in Western Europe

Western European software patents are getting smaller and smaller. Everyone familiar with the Internet has heard it thousands of times. E-mail provides almost instantaneous communications on a global scale, and numerous files containing all possible information are sent in a blink of an eye and are accessible to the general public with moderate computer skills. Like IBM's slogan, we can not deny that the Internet has changed the way the world operates.

With the emergence of "software patents" at the end of the 20th century, big and complicated problems began to emerge. Beginning with the first software patent grant sorting system in 1968 (US Pat. No. 3,380,029), there was infinite discussion on the validity of software patents. Many people believe that algorithm based software can solve the problem with a series of logical steps and run it on a general purpose computer, but this algorithm does not meet the patent requirements. Unlike hardware and pharmaceutical patents, software patents are often large and blurred.

Patents are usually held for 20 years. With the invention being extremely creative, developers can acquire software patents - in the software world this includes algorithms included in the software itself (eg application) and design. This patent also requires you to disclose details of your invention.

Most software engineers believe software patents should not exist because they are not suitable for innovation. Unfortunately, this is not a just reason to oppose the filing of software patents. It is essentially a complaint about game rules, but as a startup CTO, you have to play the game whatever you think about the rules. Many of the seed companies or Chief Technology Officers of Company A are pressured by non-technical co-founder and investors to spend time and money to buy software technology patents It was. I do not always win the argument, but I can say with confidence that all these time and energy ROI is exactly $ 0 in each case.