Software Patent Under Different Jurisdictions
- IJLLR Journal
- Dec 29, 2025
- 2 min read
Bhumika Shah, NALSAR University of Law
INTRODUCTION
Patent is a right granted for an invention; it is exclusive in nature. This is a right to exclude others from using an invention invented by an inventor. Patent can be granted on a product or process. If a patent is granted on a product prevents third parties from producing such products; it also includes storing and selling, etc., of the product. Patent is territorial, different patent applications are to be filed for protection in different jurisdictions.
Software is fundamental to technological development and the innovations in the field of automobiles, telecommunication, etc. Software is also central to the development of technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine learning, etc., that are crucial to everyday life in today’s context. The software can include computing programs, consumer portals, etc. Software is ordinarily protected under the Copyright Law but fails to protect the technical aspects. Therefore, patent provides protection in a broader form, but such patent is questionable in various jurisdictions.
Since a patent provides exclusive protection against a patented invention's making, selling, etc., it can help the owner provide a competitive advantage in the market. One can monopolize the market, but if the software is denied patent protection, it can be reverse-engineered, replicated, and even sold by anybody other than the inventor. There are two things in common around the world regarding patent application, i.e., the invention should be useful and novel. These might mean different in different jurisdictions; different legal systems might define these differently.
PATENTING
Different countries seem to have different approaches toward software patents; some are easy with the software patent, while others seem apprehensive about software patents. Reluctance to patentability is majorly to avoid patent that might restrain further innovation. Different jurisdictions have different limitations on Patents, and different jurisdictions have recently Treated software patent cases. For example, the U.S. does not allow Patent on abstract ideas, and many inventions are rejected in the US on the ground of “abstract subject matter.”
