Submission + - Halliburton loses software patent appeal in UK
Builder writes: "The Register are reporting that Halliburton have lost a patent appeal in the UK.
What makes this interesting are the appeal judge's reasons for rejecting the patent.
"The English court took a rigorous approach to analysing the patents and found that it did not adequately describe the system it sought to patent. In order to be valid a patent must describe a process so completely that a person who knows that subject area must be able to replicate it using only the contents of the patent."
He went on to say that the patent was missing vital details, contained wrong equations, demanded a higher level of expertise than allowed and that it relied on material external to the patent, and therefore was not a valid patent. Sadly this patent was upheld in the USA, but is this a good way to fight patents in the future ?"
What makes this interesting are the appeal judge's reasons for rejecting the patent.
"The English court took a rigorous approach to analysing the patents and found that it did not adequately describe the system it sought to patent. In order to be valid a patent must describe a process so completely that a person who knows that subject area must be able to replicate it using only the contents of the patent."
He went on to say that the patent was missing vital details, contained wrong equations, demanded a higher level of expertise than allowed and that it relied on material external to the patent, and therefore was not a valid patent. Sadly this patent was upheld in the USA, but is this a good way to fight patents in the future ?"
