There are many ways to obtain intellectual property protection
for software creations. Many keep the software code confidential
and maintain the software as a trade secret. Others seek patent
protection on the software, which discloses the higher-level
concepts surrounding the software without explicitly publishing the
source code. Recent changes in patent law have changed what types
of software inventions are patentable and the requirements for
obtaining such patents. However, the evolution of the law has been
ongoing for quite some time.
The Supreme Court has struggled to define what types of software
inventions are patentable in a string of cases over the past fifty
years. The most recent case, Alice Corp. Pty. Ltd. v. CLS Bank
Intern., 134 S. Ct. 2347 (2014), held that an invention
directed to an abstract idea is not patentable simply because it is
implemented on a general purpose computer. In particular,
Alice and its progeny held that a software invention
