This book explores the question of whether software should be patented. It analyses the ways in which courts in the US, the EU and Australia have attempted to deal with the problems surrounding the patentability of software.
This book is the first to bring together the history and philosophy of mathematics, software patenting in the United States, Great Britain and Australia,in order to identify the main objections to software patenting. As such, it should become an enduring reference for those people interested in the software patenting debate.
Anton Hughes has a doctorate in patent law and currently practices as a barrister in Sydney, Australia.
Acknowledgements
Introduction
1 The nature of software
2 Why software patents are a problem
3 The nature of mathematics
4 Why mathematics is not patentable
5 Why programming is not among the useful arts
6 Implications
Conclusion
Index