Facebook, Inc. [2020] APO 19
A recent hearing decision by the Australian Patent Office
highlights that a technical improvement to a general-purpose
computer can be considered patentable subject matter in Australia.
This decision also clarifies that even if a business problem is
being addressed, the claimed invention can be considered patentable
if a technical limitation of the computer is being solved.
Recent Decision
Australian Patent Application No. 2014209546 related to a
computer implemented method to track, on a mobile device, the
downloading of an advertised app via a social media platform. The
method created a shared memory location on the mobile device that
indicated the advertised app had been downloaded and allowed the
social media platform to retrieve the information in the shared
memory location and send it back to the social media platform for
storage.
