SEP 12, 2016 | US
BSA | The Software Alliance Applauds Federal Circuit's Confirmation that Innovative Software is Patentable
WASHINGTON — September 13, 2016 — BSA | The Software Alliance today applauded the Federal Circuit’s decision in the McRO (Planet Blue) v. Bandai Namco Games America case on patent subject matter eligibility.
“The Federal Circuit’s opinion reaffirms that software is worthy of patent protection just as any other field of technology,” said BSA President and CEO Victoria Espinel. “Software is a major component of today’s greatest innovations, and it is imperative that our patent system continues to encourage innovators in all fields of technology. Today’s Federal Circuit’s decision is a step in the right direction.”
The issue in McRO (Planet Blue) v. Bandai Namco Games America involved patents on software that helps video game programmers automatically synchronize 3D animated characters’ words with the movement of their lips. The legal question in the case was whether the subject matter of the patent was eligible for patent protection. In other words, for a patent to be valid it must be novel and nonobvious to prior innovations. Before answering these questions, the patent must be found to cover subject matter that has been deemed eligible of patent protection. The Federal Circuit held that the patent in this case meets the threshold for patent eligibility. BSA filed an amicus brief in the Federal Circuit arguing that the Federal Circuit should hold, as it did, that the invention is patent-eligible.
BSA 소개
소프트웨어 연합(Business Software Alliance, 이하 BSA)(www.bsa.org)은 각국 정부를 대상으로 세계 시장에서 전 세계 소프트웨어 업계를 대변하고 옹호하는 선도적 연합체입니다. 세계의 가장 혁신적 기업들이 회원사로 참여하며 경제에 활기를 불어 넣고 현대의 생활을 향상시키는 소프트웨어 솔루션을 만들어 내고 있습니다.