The category 5 patent eligibility hurricane might at last be abating.
As readers of this blog know,
the last 2-3 years have seen an adverse series of precedential court cases
declaring most (if not all) e-commerce ideas and many software-related ideas as
being patent ineligible “abstract” ideas.
Fortunately, President Trump has nominated a potential
software patent champion to be the Director of the Patent and Trademark
Office. Andrei Lancu, the Appointee, is
widely reputed to be a strong supporter of software patents. While this support might/might not extend
across the whole scope of software and e-commerce ideas, it is certainly a ray
of hope. For Mr. Lancu will be in a
position to immediately modify (or maybe eliminate) the knee-jerk rejection of
patent applications dealing with such subject matter.
He will also be in a position to influence policy in a
number of ways. Congress will likely
give his input weight. And he will be in
a position to file amicus briefs (“friend of the court” briefs) in pertinent
court cases and related appeals. Accordingly,
the sea change that this Blog Author has long hoped for might be in the
forecast. Be sure to check this blog for
forecast updates.
In the meantime, we at the Villhard Patent Group would be
happy to discuss your ideas and their potential patentability with you. For more information about us, please see www.villhardpatents.com or call us at
512-897-0399. We look forward to hearing
from you.
