ESP Wiki is looking for moderators and active contributors!
Diamond v. Diehr ruling by US Supreme Court on 3 March 1981
Revision as of 06:04, 12 August 2009 by Ciaran (talk | contribs) ('''Diamond v. Diehr, 450 U.S. 175, 192 (1981)''' is the last case where the Supreme Court of the USA ruled on the definition of patentable subject matter.)
Diamond v. Diehr, 450 U.S. 175, 192 (1981) is the last case where the Supreme Court of the USA ruled on the definition of patentable subject matter.
At issue in this case is a system for curing rubber with the aid of a computer and some mathematical formulas. The Supreme Court upheld the patent and this ruling is generally seen as increasing the scope for the patenting of software.
Others, such as Ben Klemens, argue that the ruling confirms that software ideas are not patentable. (See ESP's 2008 Bilski amicus brief)
The ruling also confirms that "excluded from such patent protection are ... abstract ideas.".
