Recipient of First Software Patent Defends Them

Arguendo writes "Martin Goetz, who obtained the first software patent in 1968, has penned a thoughtful defense of software patents for Patently-O. Goetz argues that there is no principled difference between software and hardware patents and that truly patentable software innovations require just as much ingenuity and advancement as any other kind of patentable subject matter. The Supreme Court is of course currently considering whether to change the scope of patentable subject matter in the Bilski case, which we've discussed before." Does it weaken Goetz's argument that his description of the software lifecycle harks back to the waterfall days and bears little resemblance to current development practice in open source and/or Internet contexts?

Comments

Re:Patents aren't the problem

[NickFortune]

Indeed. I though TFA was very weak. His points were:

1. If you can do it in electronics, you can do it in hardware: the electronics would be patentable
2. Software patents can make a shitload of money for someone
3. I think software patents are pretty neat!

Only the first point is anything resembling an argument, and that one we've heard a dozen times before.

If anyone wants a soild exploration of what should and should not be considered software, and why it ought not to be patentable, I'd recommend PoIR's An Explanation of Computation Theory for Lawyers" over on Groklaw. It's well-researched, well-argued, and informative.