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True, you can not patent a mathematical formula but you can patent a machine that uses a mathematical formula to do something and the machine can be a computer.
by asmithmd1 15y ago
True, you can not patent a mathematical formula but you can patent a machine that uses a mathematical formula to do something and the machine can be a computer.
- redthrowaway 15y agoSo I can't patent 'x=x+1', but I can patent a "system, method, and computer-readable medium for incrementing the value of a variable by one"?
- asmithmd1 15y agoA more concrete example: You discover that the formula for making a beam that will have equal stress all along it's length is t = (.923)Xe/L^2 (made-up formula) You can not patent that formula, but you can get a patent on beams made using that formula. With that patent in hand you can stop anyone from making, selling, or using those beams.
- drcube 15y agoSounds like a distinction without a difference. If you can stop people from using a formula with your patent, you've effectively patented that formula.
- DanHulton 15y agoOkay, but we're not talking about the machine - we're talking about the formula/algorithm/program here. Thus, does the defence still work?
- alok-g 15y agoIf you read the independent claims, they have not patented the formula by itself. Claim 1: A system for determining if two operands point to different locations in memory, the ... Claim 15: A method for producing executable code for performing ... Claim 21: A computer-readable medium comprising computer-executable instructions for ... Dependent claims by definition include at least one of the above. PS: I am not a lawyer. Never have been.