Software Patents and the Internet of Things in Europe, the United States and India

Abstract

This article sheds light on the pressing issue of the patentability of computer-implemented inventions by giving account of the approaches followed in Europe, United States, and India. The occasion of this study is the adoption in 2016 of the final version of the Indian guidelines on the examination of computer-related inventions, which have been surprisingly overlooked in the legal literature. The main idea is that the Internet of Things will lead to a dramatic increase of applications for software patents and if examiners, courts, and legislators will not be careful, there is the concrete risk of a surreptitious generalised grant of patents for computer programs as such (in Europe) and for abstract ideas (in the United States). The clarity provided by the Indian guidelines, following a lively public debate, can constitute good practices that Europe and the United States should take into account.