Software developers have long been able to protect their innovations by virtue of a favorable provision of U.S. patent law that gives them almost monopoly power to maximize financial returns. The law also enables developers to take action against any other party that comes close to duplicating or imitating their software programs through court litigation on charges of infringement — or, alternatively, to obtain handsome licensing fees. Those patent protections could be weakened by the outcome of a case now before the U.S. Supreme Court.
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US Supreme Court to Examine Scope of Software Protection
Posted by: John K. Higgins January 17, 2014 05:00 AMSoftware developers have long been able to protect their innovations by virtue of a favorable provision of U.S. patent law that gives them almost monopoly power to maximize financial returns. The law also enables developers to take action against any other party that comes close to duplicating or imitating their software programs through court litigation on charges of infringement — or, alternatively, to obtain handsome licensing fees. Those patent protections could be weakened by the outcome of a case now before the U.S. Supreme Court.