Patent Laws in India: Can a Computer Program be Patented?

Under patent laws in India, the patent holder is granted a 20 years’ monopoly by the State for any invention. Patent protection is still a debatable issue in some cases, such as in the case of computer programs. The Indian Patent Act, 1970 does not provide patent protection to computer programs. However, section 2(o) of the Copyright Act 1957 does provide protection for computer programs and computer data. This is because this section recognizes computer programs and computer data under creative works category that is entitled to copyright protection.

Patent Laws in India: International Patent Laws on Patenting Computer Programs

Patent laws in India are based on British law. Computer programs are not considered a patentable invention under section 1(2) of the U.K. Patents Act of 1977. However, the English law does have some exceptions in certain cases where a computer program can be patented along with the computer.

There is as such no international convention that grants patent to computer programs. Under the Paris convention, 1883, that covers protection of industrial property, the member countries can specify the ‘protectable’ subject matter’ for patents on their discretion.

Further, according to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) 1978, a computer program must offer new and inventive technical solutions for it to claim patent protection.

In a significant decision held in IBM Corporation’s Application case, 1980 FSR 564, it was adjudged that patent protection can be accorded to a computer, that is programmed to perform on a system and operate in a new way. However, there is an apparent indication on international level that patent recognition should only be granted to more sophisticated computer programs.