Computer-implemented inventions
Computer-implemented inventions (CII) is a term which is sometimes a synonym for software patents, and sometimes used with a broader definition. This term shouldn't be used. It only leads to confusion (indeed, that might be its purpose).
Contents
Ambiguous to the point of being useless
Having a meaningful conversation about "CII" is almost impossible.
Implemented by a computer?
Sometimes it can mean inventions that are implemented by a computer, such as a computer-controlled washing machine. We've no problem with patents on those sorts of devices.
Or implemented on a computer?
Sometimes it means inventions that are implemented on a computer (i.e. software).
In what might have been a slip, one of the term's promoters, the Business Software Alliance, published a study mentioning that "...we wished to define computer-implemented inventions (usually referred to as 'software patents' in United States...".[1]
Related pages on ESP Wiki
External links
- http://eupat.ffii.org/papers/eubsa-swpat0202/kinv/index.en.html
- http://www.ipblog.ca/?p=400 - Canada's patent office held a consultation on CII's in 2010
References
