Best Practices for Protecting Software and Computer-Implemented Inventions in the United States and Europe

Few topics in U.S. and European patent law have attracted as much attention as the ongoing debate over the patentability of software. The latest development in this debate came with last week’s decision in Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank, in which the U.S. Supreme Court held that claims for computerized techniques for mitigating settlement risk were drawn to a patent-ineligible abstract idea, as opposed to an “inventive concept” that was more than the abstract idea itself. The debate will undoubtedly continue and is accentuated by the size and continued growth of the software industry, both in the United States and Europe.

Our panel will discuss the Alice decision and share its insight on how to patent software and computer-implemented inventions. Topics will include:

• The Supreme Court’s decision in Alice v. CLS Bank and the framework used by the Court in deciding whether the claims were drawn to patent-eligible subject matter.
• The potential impact of Alice v. CLS Bank on issued patents directed to software and computer-implemented technologies.
• How the current European Patent Office (EPO) case law on patentability of computer programs reconciles with Alice.
• How to draft patent applications for software and computer-implemented inventions.
• Practical advice on prosecution at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the EPO for these technologies.

Moderator: 
C. Gregory Gramenopoulos

Speakers: 
Philip L. Cupitt, Ph.D.
Timothy J. May

Date:
Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Time:
15:00 - 16:00 BST
16:00 - 17:00 CEST
10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. EDT