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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