Did you know that the US Supreme Court actually ruled in 1972 that algorithms could not be patented? Unfortunately, it wasn’t their only ruling on software patents. In 1981’s Diamond v. Diehr, the Supreme Court considered a patent on a software-controlled rubber-curing machine. This time, the Supreme Court allowed the patent in a 5 – 4 decision. It was this last ruling that opened the floodgates on software patents. However, it’s likely that the present court will take a strong stance against software patents, having begun to overturn Federal Circuit Court rulings back in 2006. This could mean the beginning of the end for software patents and the trolls who exist only to extort money from true innovators.
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