Computer and Technology Inventions

Computer and Technology Patents

There is an unhealthy situation in the computer industry whereby large corporations are apparently filing as many computer related patents as possible in order to gain a competitive advantage over other smaller companies.

This constitutes a blatant misuse of patents and of their original intention, which was to make technology available to all and sundry, though at a price. A patent is basically a set of exclusionary rights that are bestowed upon the owner of the patent in exchange for the public disclosure of details of the invention.

Patents that are related to computer technology are filed regardless by computer companies – LG Electronics holds 5000 patents on DVD technology alone, let alone the thousands more held by the company in other computer related technology.

It is understandable to file applications for patents for different types of computer hardware, but, with the main exception of the United States, computer software patents are illegal in most countries of the world. But this does not prevent many large corporations from filing applications for patents for their computer software.

In the United Kingdom, patent law states that an invention is only regarded as an invention if it affords a function that is not excluded and which is also technical.

A computer program that puts into operation a business process is therefore not an invention; whereas a computer program that starts an industrial process may well be patentable. There is no doubt where the law stands regarding computer software patents in South Africa.

A computer program (hence software) falls under the heading of “inventions of the mind” which includes such items as musical compositions, poems, plays and novels, schemes and business methods, mathematical methods, rules of games, designs of all types and scientific theories, none of which may be patented, indeed which are expressly excluded in the Patents Act 57 of 1978 from being patented.

The moment the source code in a computer program is written and signed it falls under Copyright Law.

That means that no-one may use it without the express permission of the author until fifty years after his or her death. In the European Union the present laws are as they are in South Africa and the UK, but there is an extremely strong lobby for legislation to be passed that will make computer software legally patentable.

The Law regarding Computer software patents has developed into something of a grey area in South Africa, and several patents have been granted for computer software.

As yet there is no case law to refer to in the country. Until such time as the law is changed by Act of Parliament, it is set to remain a grey area.

If you have any queries at all regarding the present state of the law in South Africa or elsewhere regarding computer software patents, or indeed any queries regarding intellectual property of any kind, please don’t hesitate to contact one of our intellectual property attorneys, who will be happy to assist you.