The full Federal Court has introduced new and unexpected
requirements for patentability of inventions in the information
technology space in
Commissioner of Patents v RPL Central Pty Ltd [2015] FCAFC
177.,
In essence, the RPL decision boils down to the
following statements of principle:
"A technological innovation is patentable; a business
innovation is not"; and
"Simply putting a business method or scheme into a
computer is not patentable unless there is an invention in the way
in which the computer carries out the scheme or
method."
Accordingly, it is fair to surmise that Full Court's
position as follows: (i) where the underlying substance of an
invention is "technological" in nature, there should be
no question as to subject matter eligibility; and (ii) where that
underlying substance is "business related", it is
necessary to show a degree of invention in the manner by which
computer implementation is achieved.
