European View of Software Patentability in the U.S.

According to a November 9, 2004 article from the European IPR HelpDesk, "It is much easier to gain patent protection for computer software in the United States than it appears to be the case in the European Union. Although the European Commission has proposed a new directive concerning the patentability of computer software, this proposal only deals with computer implemented inventions. The effect would be that computer software will only be patentable subject matter provided it has a technical effect or, under a different interpretation, is of a technical character. In the USA, the more fundamental approach to patenting - the general "everything under the sun" - enables courts to widely grant protection without any restriction even to the technical character of the subject matter at hand. The gravest consequence lies in a possible overprotection and thus monopolisation of informational items since the claim may well encompass not only the series of information embedded but also the concept which it carries out."