Message-Id: <199506050504.BAA27054@zork.tiac.net>
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Date: Mon, 05 Jun 1995 00:59:14 +0000
To: rdshydur@MIT.EDU
From: oldbear@arctos.com (The Old Bear)
Subject: FYI: New Patent Guidelines for Software

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PATENT OFFICE PROPOSES NEW GUIDELINES FOR SOFTWARE 

The U.S. Patent & Trademark Office is having a change of heart 
and has proposed new guidelines for granting patents on computer 
software.  

Taking their cue from recent court rulings, the new guidelines 
direct examiners to concentrate on determining whether the 
invention is genuinely new, useful and otherwise deserving of a 
patent. "In the past, often times they have focused on formalities 
more," says Commissioner Bruce Lehman.  "The key element is these 
guidelines ask examiners to really focus on what is the invention." 

Experts predict that despite the shift, copyright will remain 
the primary protection afforded software developers, particularly for 
off-the-shelf programs geared toward consumers.  

souorce: Wall Street Journal   6/2/95   A3