In a previous article, we discussed a legal strategy for protecting software that involved segmenting software into three tiers and protecting each tier separately. Those tiers are as follows: Level One: User Interface Level Two: API Level Three: Algorithms and Data Structures This article focuses on the first tier, which involves how the user interacts […]
Widerman Malek Law Blog
Is There Legal Protection for Software?
Although the protection strategy has changed, the answer is yes. Until recently, software patents accounted for about half of all utility patents issued by the USPTO. Application of a 2014 U.S. Supreme Court case, Alice v. CLS Bank, effectively slammed the door on this practice. Likewise, software patents issued prior to this decision have been […]
What Does the Future Hold for Software Patents?
As technology continues on the fast track, what was once a novel and innovative idea will become commonplace and taken for granted just like the cell phone and air conditioning. It poses quite the threat to intellectual property rights when you stop long enough to think about it. Eolas Eolas is the name of the […]
5 Myths about Intellectual Property
For the most part, people don’t set out to “steal” someone else’s property or creative ideas, but they are often inspired by what they see or what they’ve heard, which in turn leads them down a sometimes daunted path of inappropriate business dealings equating to the loss of their business, fines, fees and even bankruptcy. […]
Software Patents: Yes or No?
If you are a software developer, you may be frustrated that you cannot seem to get a straight answer on whether your software-related invention is patent eligible in the United States, much less abroad. Well, you aren’t going to get that straight answer from me, either! But at least I will try to give you […]
Software: Picking Your Protection
In the United States (and, for that matter, in most of the industrialized world), the three most common intellectual property right (IPR) protections available for software are patent, copyright, and trade secret. Leaders of software development organizations must decide which protection (or protections) best supports the company’s business objectives, keeping in mind that different protections may be appropriate in each country in […]
