Foreword:
The issue of patentability of computer related inventions in the US, Europe and Japan, is well known, and has been so for a number of years. This matter had not really been tackled in Israel, however, until Israel Patent Application No. 68409, filed by United Technologies Corporation, went to appeal. Until then, no consistent position had been adopted by the Israel Patent Office. Indeed, once the 68409 application was brought to appeal, the prosecution of many computer-related cases was frozen until the appeal was resolved.
The position in Israel is now similar to that of many other 'enlightened' countries, such as those listed above.
While the following case appears to be an adoption of generally accepted practice by the Israel system, it nonetheless makes for interesting reading.
