About Software Patents

Copyrights protect the work that goes into writing the text of a software program. If someone likes your software, they can legally write their own version and compete with you. "Software patents" protect the new and useful functional steps performed by a software program, giving you ownership of any program that uses your patented calculation steps. This prevents competitors from marketing programs that do the same new things that your program does.

"Software patents" are of two types. First, a patent may be granted on a method comprising a set of steps carried out by the software, as long as the steps relate to real-world useful data as either input or output. For example, software that monitors data from a chemical process and sounds an emergency alarm under certain conditions is patentable subject matter, while an algorithm that converts decimal numbers to binary inside a computer primarily for the computer's purposes is not patentable subject matter. Second, a patent may be granted on a piece of hardware adapted to perform a series of calculation steps, as long as the steps relate to real-world useful data either as input or output. For example, a computer processor that is connected to sensors and an alarm bell, that is adapted to monitor a chemical process and sound an emergency alarm under certain conditions, is patentable subject matter even though the software required for it to function is only implied in the claim. Both method claims and hardware claims should be written for every software patent.

If the software enables an advantageous new method of doing business, a business method patent can provide an especially powerful form of intellectual property protection for software-implemented methods. Business method patents, like the first type of software patents, patent a novel set of steps performed in order to accomplish something in the real world. For example, the NetflixTM business method patent (US6,584,450) patents the set of steps needed for renting objects by mail (such as offering a selection of objects, receiving a customer order, shipping the object to the customer, and shipping a second object after the customer returns the first object) using any software whatsoever.

Software that is patentable as method steps and hardware is frequently patentable as a business method, but many patent attorneys have not yet recognized the need for business method approaches to novel software. At Stoneman Law Offices, we typically write software patent claims as method steps, hardware, and business methods for each case. We have experienced software patent practitioners on staff who can perform expert patentability searches and who can prepare your software patent application with skill and creativity. All of our work is designed to discourage competitors, promote licensability, and protect your invention in court. As software patents are relatively likely to come under close scrutiny during licensing or infringement, it is very important to have them searched, prepared, and prosecuted by experts.

Unlike some other law firms, Stoneman Volk Patent Group typically does not charge for phone calls, client meetings, photocopies, etc. Stoneman Volk Patent Group prefers not to charge by the hour (unless special arrangements are made in advance). Instead, our firm prefers to estimate the work involved and give the client a fixed-fee quote before proceeding. Our clients appreciate knowing in advance exactly how much they can expect to be charged. Please see our Fees page for current typical costs, and please see our Issued Patents page for a few examples of issued software and business method patents that we have prepared and prosecuted for our clients.

Some examples of Software Technology patents we have prepared:

Interactive Internet Shopping and Data Integration Method and System A method and system for interactively shopping for groceries, especially on an Internet web site, where the user may create a shopping list, shop for items from the list at a selected Grocery Storey store, arrange for pick up or delivery of the selected items and payment, or to download the list to a PDA or for printing with the store's layout for use in the store. Users are required to register and provide specific demographic information (useful to Manufacturers and stores) to be eligible to receive the benefits of use of the web site, such as menu creation, coupon downloads, menu planning, and recipe input. Shopping lists may be created from a single input screen using standard language text; and products may be automatically suggested to the user based on best regular price or retailer's specials. Recipes may be altered to meet numbers of servings or dietary requirements and changes stored for future use.

Monitoring System A system for improved monitoring of changes in the location and conditions surrounding people and property, utilizing fixed and moveable logic processors, which communicate with each other as well as receivers. Non-continuous signaling may be used to provide for reduced power consumption, and network coupling may be used to provided for exporting information to anywhere in the world.

System For Creating and Maintaining a Database of Information Utilizing User Opinions A system for automatically creating and maintaining a database of information utilizing user opinions about subjects, particularly exceptional experiences. Described is an Internet system assisting/motivating a population of users interested in information about certain categories of subjects to automatically maintain the database content and to improve the usefulness and quality of the database information without any substantial management by the website owner-manager. The user opinions are primarily in the form of both comments and ratings about which natural-language terms best describe a particular subject, enabling user searches of the subject database to be by way of preferred such descriptive natural-language terms, which terms are further preferred to be evaluative and approving.

Click here to see additional examples of our work in this area.