For those of us that support the concept of software patents, there has always been a problem. A big one:
the seemingly unending stream of idiotic software-related patents flowing out of the USPTO with big bright stamps of approval.
This reality has not only given ammunition to those who morally oppose the concept of software patents, but also sown doubt among those who genuinely believe that patents provide fuel to the fire of genius. Anyone in the technology industry realizes there is a problem with the current state of the patent system, the place where we often differ on how to define the problem and what the solutions should be.
For those of us who believe the problem is an overwhelmed, underequipped, and hamstrung patent office (rather than the concept of software patents itself), the Supreme Court’s decision in KSR vs. Teleflex may be a big part of the answer.
Of course Big Pharma, their patent lawyers, and patent opportunists are understandably apoplectic about the decision because it will create a period of transition and devalue the crappy patents they should never have received in the first place.
But the actual impact of the decision will be to give patent examiners and judges back an important tool in reviewing patents: common sense. There may be some turmoil in the interim, but the result will hopefully be fewer dumb patents (and lawsuits based on dumb patents) in the future. And, most importantly, a system with fewer but higher quality patents will undoutedly enable us to better achieve the true goal of the patent system: the promotion of invention for the public good.