|
|
Enron Mail |
About Members Events Ne= ws Contact Jobs = Issue 3 | October 16, 2001 APLF.org = Software: Is It Ready For Patenting? = When Is A Software Invention Actually Re= ady For Patenting? The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit recently= affirmed a District Court decision of patent invalidity under the on-sale= provisions of 35 U.S.C. ?102(b). Robotic Vision Sys., Inc. v. View Eng'g= , Inc and General Scanning, Inc., 249 F.3d 1307 (Fed. Cir. 2001). The Fede= ral Circuit applied the new two prong on-sale bar test from Wayne K. Pfaff= v. Wells Elecs., Inc., 525 U.S. 55 (1998). In the Pfaff case, the Supr= eme Court, referred to drawings and other descriptions of an invention as = proof that the invention is complete and hence ready for patenting. Using = the new Pfaff test, the Federal Circuit held that a software invention was= ready for patenting when one of the inventors described the invention to= a co-worker in sufficient detail to allow him to practice it, even though= the actual software used to practice the invention did not exist before t= he on-sale bar date. The Robotic Vision case helps illustrate the dynami= c nature of patent law used to protect high-tech inventions. It also illus= trates the caution that must be exercised when attempting to protect high= -tech inventions including methods that are implemented with software. The= conduct of inventors as well as marketing or sales materials that could d= escribe details of software inventions must now receive more scrutiny to a= void inadvertent on-sale bars under ?102(b). To discuss the topic above= further, please contact the author Stephen Lesavich, PhD of McDonnell Boe= hnen Hulbert & Berghoff (Chicago) at Lesavich@mbhb.com . http://www.mbhb.= com . The information contained in this e-mail is provided for informat= ional purposes only and does not represent legal advice. Neither the APLF = nor the author intends to create an attorney client relationship by provid= ing this information to you through this message. Ab= out Members Events News Contact Jobs =09 To Unsubscribe from this newsletter, please reply to this email with UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject line.
|