Adjudications by Federal Circuit (United States) last year in respect of software related patents clarifies the test as had propounded in wake of Alice judgement few years ago. The clarification is indeed a breather for an innovator vying for a software related patent. While an invention caused by generic-computer executing software remains difficult to be patented in India, the adjudications indicate that United States remains an un-disputably attractive destination for patenting said inventions till date.
Yet, the scenario has not always been such favourable since in the year 2014, the United States Supreme Court had come down heavily against software-patents in Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank International decision while considering the principle patentability of software patents. A two-step Alice test was propounded in respect of examining software related patent applications and made the road-ahead difficult.