Israel Patent Office Ruling on Software Patents (28 December 2006)

  Annulment Proceeding No. 142049 (28 December 2005), the IP Arbitrator at the Israel Patent Office, Noach Shalev Shmulovich has recently issued an important ruling on Software patents, and voided a patent issued for displaying graphical and textual elements of search results. Whilst not discounting Software patents per se. Shalev stresses the importance of “technological contribution” and clarifies how novelty of software patents should be assessed. The requirements for enablement were also discussed. This important ruling is available from the Patent Office, or we can send it as a PDF attachment to interested parties. It is hoped that this ruling will serve to deter a repetition of the plethora of vaporware patents that were filed at the end of the last millennium. 

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