April 01, 1995
PTO 95-18

USPTO to Develop Guidelines to Protect Software Inventions

USPTO to Develop Guidelines to Protect Software Inventions

For Immediate Release:


     The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is developing new
guidelines that will govern the examination of patent
applications on computer software inventions, the agency
announced. 
     The guidelines are being developed in response to recent
judicial decisions that suggest a trend toward increasing the
eligibility of computer software-based innovations for protection
under U.S. patent laws, while decreasing the availability of
protection for certain aspects of computer programs under the
copyright process, the PTO said.  At the same time, the Office
announced that it is reconsidering its position in a number of
pending appeals concerning software-related cases, including In
re Beauregard, which involves a computer program stored on a
computer readable medium such as a floppy disk.

     "The PTO must keep its practices consistent with judicial
interpretations of the law.  A failure to do so could jeopardize
effective intellectual property protection for one of our
nation's most important industries," said Nancy Linck, PTO's
solicitor.  

     The computer software industry and its intellectual property
is essential to our nation's economy.  In 1992, the United States
supplied 74 percent of the world's packaged software technology
at a value of $47.6 billion.  More than 5.5 million workers were
employed in software and related industries, accounting for $325
billion or 5.6 percent of the Gross Domestic Product.