SMEs and patenting of software inventions

Abstract

This dissertation looks at the extent to which software is patentable and the implications that the possibility of patenting pure software has on small and medium sized enterprises in the technology industry. The first chapter of this dissertation looks at the invention in software, the limits of copyright when it comes to the protection of the ideas in software, the main international legal regime regulating patents, and the requirements for patentability of software under the European Patent Convention and in Malta. The second chapter looks at the circumstances that led to the wide interpretation of 'invention' by the European Patent Office and at the requirement for a 'technical contribution' for the patentability of software at the European Patent Office and in the UK. The third and fourth chapters then look at the benefits and at the arguments against patent protection for software from an SME perspective. This is done in light of the US experience and in light of the attempts for an EU-wide Community patent and the failed Directive which attempted to harmonize the patentability of computer-implemented inventions in the EU.