In the digital age, software affects almost all aspects of industrial activity, encompassing monitor and control systems, corporate and governmental networks, telecommunication and broadcast infrastructure, and the rapidly-expanding mobile-applications market, just to scratch the surface. Software patents and elaborate IP strategy have garnered a cachet among tech giants, entrepreneurs, and speculators alike to leverage strategic positions, and wage war in the business arena.
Different patent regimes treat software patents differently – requiring various thresholds to be met for patentability in the patent-drafting process. While algorithms cannot be patented per se, they do form the basis of many software patents. This serves as the contextual backdrop in broadly structuring patent specifications and their claims. A fine line exists between constructing a strong legal barrier to protect one’s assets broadly, and either excessively restricting the scope of an invention, or overstepping the bounds of what is known in the prior art.
Software patents uniquely enable several claim types to be employed for this purpose – methods, devices, systems, networks, and media are all types of claims that can be used to protect a software invention. Selecting which types of claims to use, how to use them in combination, which claim dependencies are effective, and how many claims are enough are questions that a seasoned professional with prosecution experience and knowledge of complex claim strategies and continuation practice will instinctively know how to answer during the patent-drafting stage. Moreover, determining what safeguards can strengthen litigation positions, what mechanisms are there to fend off invalidity charges, and ultimately which approaches can raise valuation assessments are decisions that require the insight of a skilled and well-experienced patent attorney to craft into an effective IP strategy.
FlashPoint IP, a leader among intellectual property firms, factors these wide-ranging aspects into the process of securing patent protection, whether in performing a patent search of the prior art, engaging in patent drafting of applications, selecting how and where to file, or prosecuting your claims to an invention to help you maximize value in an extensive array of practice areas. Having Ph.D. degrees and industrial experience, our patent attorneys are adept at synthesizing the many facets needed to create a winning formula for your IP. Contact us to discuss your options regarding IP strategy and positioning, and how best to secure your rights.
