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Does this mean that software patents are not valid in India? If so, what will this mean for trade relations between India and the US?
by quanticle 11y ago
Does this mean that software patents are not valid in India? If so, what will this mean for trade relations between India and the US?
- analog31 11y agoUS patents are generally not valid in India. As I understand it, you have to patent something in every country where you want protection. In practice, you choose how many countries you need, in order to protect a reasonable market. Sometimes you can guess wrong about this, of course.
- tomkinstinch 11y ago[IANAL] The PCT makes it possible to shotgun patent applications globally though, right? India is a contracting state. 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patent_Cooperation_Treaty https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patent_Cooperation_Treaty
- analog31 11y agoIt does, but as I understand it, you still choose where you want to apply for a patent (and consequently, how many fees you have to pay). I have a number of patents. For my earliest ones, the lawyer suggested filing in the US, and in any country where a competitor was located. Later we started filing in US, EU, and in some cases Japan. Today, China is on the list, but not India.
- nileshtrivedi 11y agoEU doesn't have software patents by law either. They're being granted in violation of law.
- runholm 11y agoSame as for EU countries where software patents are not valid. You can make a product that violates US software patents, but not sell that product in the US market. Depending on your business model that may be acceptable or not.