Among other updates, the Act also adds new protection for
alleged infringers to encourage out-of-court settlement of disputes
whilst still deterring patent owners from making unreasonable
allegations of infringement.
The Act does not change the criteria for patentability – that's
something that is still being debated at the European level with a
view to finalising a new Directive on computer-implemented
inventions. It could make software patents easier to obtain.
In response to that debate, the UK Patent Office recently
published a list of Frequently Asked Questions on software patents,
seeking to clarify confusion over when and how the 1977 Act's
exclusion against software patents (which remains unchanged by the
new 2004 Act) currently operates in the UK.
According to the Patent Office, the position at present is that
"Software should not be patentable when there is no technological
innovation, and technological innovations should not cease to be
patentable merely because the innovation lies in software."
But, says the Patent Office, "there is a need for the law to
express this more clearly, and for this clarification to take place
as soon as practicable." It adds that "ways of doing business
should remain unpatentable".
