Re: [Patents] "Further technical effect"

[Hartmut Pilch <phm@a2e.de>]

>     * Processing which effects the way in which a computer operates is
> technical. For example, saving memory, increasing speed, improving
> security, operating a user interface (T 236/91, T 59/93), configuring
> the operating system (T 265/92), coordinating and controlling internal
> data (T 6/83), or assisting in solving diagnostic problems in data
> communication (T 216/89). For instance, using computers instead of
> humans to process secret/private/sensitive data would increase security
> or confidentiality.

all these are considered non-technical by recent german caselaw.
The Federal Patent Court (BPatG) in its 2002 decision

        http://swpat.ffii.org/papers/bpatg17-suche02/

says clearly that if an increase in computing efficiency was to be
considered a patentable invention than any innovative program for
computers would be a patentable invention, and thus Art 52 EPC would
be violated.

The BPatG decided largely in accordance with the higher Federal Court of
Justice (BGH) on this point, meaning that the two have recently converged
to this position.

You have indeed found a key point of discussion here.

-- 
Hartmut Pilch, FFII & Eurolinux Alliance              tel. +49-89-12789608
Protecting Innovation against Patent Inflation       http://swpat.ffii.org/
145,000 votes 400 firms against software patents     http://noepatents.org/