Arguments For Patents for Business Methods and Software-Implemented Inventions - And Some Against

"Steven J. Henry and Eric L. Amundsen, to be specific, were nice enough and brave enough to step up to the plate and explain why, in their view, based on their experience as IP attorneys, the sky will not fall no matter how Bilski is decided.

"I know, and they know -- because I made it clear -- that most of us here are opposed to software patents and disagree with their position. But they came anyway, and I appreciate it. Thank you both. Please treat them as my guests at this party, with respectful attention, and then explain to them in return, please, all the reasons you do or do not agree. References are ideal for expanding and deepening the conversation.

"It's particularly pertinent now to be having this discussion because the Supreme Court is going to be deciding the appeal of Bilski, and I thought it would be useful to consider a bit of the history of those kinds of patents and the cases that led to them being thought of as patentable subject matter. Groklaw can't file an amicus, but at least we can contribute to thinking about the issues. Think of it as tossing a note in a bottle into the ocean. You just never know who you might reach. When I go down the Patently O list of Bilski briefs now being filed with the Supreme Court, I don't see the pro-software/methods patents proponents even addressing the needs and concerns of the FOSS community."

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