Google has filed a patent application before the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks in India for its recently developed social networking site based on user preferences and format performance data. In its application filed on June 27 this year, Google has claimed that a user network site could be formed on the basis of preferences and format performance data, which means a website could be developed on the basis of some personal information that would be helpful in many ways.
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Google files for patent in India for social networking site
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weill i dont know. does the indian patent regime allow for patents of the softwares.
the best i know of is registration of patents in software in embedded system. a purely software program being granted patent in India ?
has the law changed on this ?
The Indian Patent Act of 1970 did not allow for software patents until 2002 when an amendment, which excluded “computer programmes per se” from the scope of patenting, was made. This introduced an element ambiguity in the law. As the amendment implied that while computer programmes themselves were not eligible for patents, programmes used in combination with hardware were. The Act was further amended through an ordinance in 2005 to narrow the scope of software excluded, but the ordinance was rejected by the Indian Parliament. Hence, the Act reverted to the 2002 amendment. The law appears to be somewhat ambiguous. According to media reports this loophole is being used by software companies to get pure software patents.
ok here’s my take.
As i have applied for software patents only to have them rejected. i know a bit. so will share that.
“software along with an hardware” are patentable. this does not mean firefox on a hp machine. but rather for example: a GE machine that performs CATSCAN. wherein the machine and the software are so much “embedded” with each other that they are seen as one.
secondly, patents provide only a limited protection. why will i go for patent protection, when i get a longer copyright protection? and also provide for criminal prosecution for infringement ? which patent law does not.
also patent protection is way too expensive. copyright is free.
Dear Reader,
Thank you for your response and explanation. Here’s my take
There are obvious advantages to a software patent which cannot be discounted. They allow for a broader protection. A patent is a monopoly on an idea whereas a copyright is a monopoly on the expression of an idea.
See the case of Apple v. Microsoft in which apple sought to restrain Microsoft from using desktop elements which they had copyrighted. The court held that copyright protection did not protect Apple. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_v._Microsoft
The outcome of this case would have been different if the Apple would have relied on a patent protection. Then again they “borrowed” the concept from Xerox Palo Alto Labs!!
Several companies(unscrupulously?) make large patent claims based on which they derive royalties.
For more on the issue you may want to read this excellent paper by Lawrence Liang
http://www.sarai.net/research/knowledge-culture/critical-public-legal-resources/whysoftwarepatentsareharmful.pdf