The Evitability of Software Patents

30 Computer The Evitability of Software Patents A n Australian patent examiner more than 40 years ago, I’ve maintained a sporadic interest in the law of intellectual property and been disturbed by the developing saga of software patents. Although the intellectual property laws of any two countries—such as Australia and the US, for example—exhibit significant differences, my disquiet goes far beyond such differences. Kenneth Nichols’s recent Computer article1 brought several of my concerns into sharp focus. It was a splendid tutorial, and letters published in the subsequent two issues nicely augmented it. Given that Nichols expressly aimed to “outline the current state of software patenting in the US,” it would have been quite unfair to take issue with him had he not led with his chin. Twice. First, he flatly asserted that “software patents are neither inherently good nor bad.” Second, he declared that “software patents are here to stay.”