HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Juhasz Law Firm introduced an offering named “virtual link” patent claim defense for corporate holders of software patents that are vulnerable to being challenged or struck down in the wake of the Supreme Court Bilski decision of June 28, 2010.
Three recent lower court patent claim decisions highlight the problem of accurately defining the boundary line beyond which a software patent claim preempts a fundamental idea (and within which it becomes patentable subject matter) in the wake of Bilski [1].
Juhasz Law Firm states that in one after another post-Bilski decision, the lower courts have struggled to define that boundary line, as evidenced by the “functional and palpable” test in Research Tech (Federal Circuit) [2]; the “meaningful limits” test in H&R Block (E.D. TX) [3]; and arguably the “practical applications” test in Bancorp (E.D. MO) [4].
“The absence of a uniform test for defining the threshold for software patent claims in a way that is understandable, uniform to apply, and leads to consistent results true to Bilski, makes the boundary lines being drawn in these decisions no more precise than lines drawn in the sand,” said Paul R. Juhasz, president of The Juhasz Law Firm.
The Juhasz Law Firm’s “virtual link” approach to software patents provides a precise, and the firm believes defensible, boundary line—by defining the existence or absence of links from the data manipulated by the software to a physical or tangible object.
Software that manipulates a real or tangible object does not cross the boundary line of abstractness and is patentable per Diehr [5]. The same should apply to “virtual links” where the data are representations of a physical and tangible object, as in the Fifth Claim of Morse [6]. The link of data to something “real” provides the basis for a predictable boundary line that Juhasz Law Firm can use to guide holders of software patents in defense of their patent claim.
For more on “virtual links” and their use in a patent claim, and details on footnoted references [1] through [6], go to http://patenthorizon.com/main/research-and-insights/blog.
The Juhasz Law Firm is a patent and intellectual property (IP) protection, counseling, licensing, and litigation firm. Combining deep patent/IP experience, broad capabilities across a wide spectrum of industries and technologies, and extensive expertise in strategic counseling, The Juhasz Law Firm collaborates with clients to help them better see, understand, and realize the potential strategic value from their patents and intellectual property. For more information, visit the firm Web site (www.patenthorizon.com).