At Blueshift IP, we specialise in obtaining strong, broad, defensible, and enforceable software patents for our clients in the US and worldwide. Our attorneys have computer science degrees and decades of combined experience specializing in software patents.
Ever since the landmark US Supreme Court Case of Alice Corp. vs CLS Bank in 2014, it has become more challenging to obtain software patents. Even after Alice, we at Blueshift IP continue to obtain software patents regularly for our clients using our special expertise. The law as it applies to software patents is constantly evolving and at Blueshift IP we stay up to date on the latest developments daily for the benefit of our clients.
In just the last few months, there have been some very significant positive developments in the law and in policy at the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) which have made it much easier to obtain software patents in the US. In short, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC), which is the appeals court in the US that is responsible for hearing all patent appeals and which therefore plays a significant role in shaping US patent law, issued several precedential decisions which affirm and strengthen the patentability of software inventions.
These decisions made clear that software based innovations can make the kind of improvement to computer technology that can be patented and also significantly raise the bar for patent examiners and courts when they wish to reject or invalidate software patents. The USPTO has acted quickly in response to these recent court decisions by issuing multiple memos to US patent examiners instructing them how they are required to interpret these court cases. We have already begun relying on the new USPTO policies for our clients with favourable results. We are already finding that as a result of these court decisions and the corresponding USPTO guidelines that examiners are less likely to reject software patents based on the Alice decision and that it is easier for us to overcome such rejections when we receive them.
Furthermore, we have changed how we write new patent applications so that they will be stronger, less likely to receive Alice-based rejections and better at overcoming such rejections. We think that these recent developments represent a turning point in the application of US patent law to software patents in a way that is extremely favorable to individuals and companies seeking to obtain software patents. This positive change in the climate for US software patents should encourage anyone who has developed a software innovation to strongly consider patenting that software. We at Blueshift IP are constantly monitoring all changes in the law and USPTO policy as they relate to software patents and are always evolving the legal strategies that we use to benefit our clients in response. We encourage you to contact us to seek patent protection for any innovative software you have developed or about any software patent applications you have filed and are having difficulty obtaining.
