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                         Rice University
          Computer and Information Technology Institute

                       Patent Information
                      (This file:  PATENT)
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(This file was prepared by D. C. Toedt of Arnold, White & Durkee,
Houston, Texas, dctoedt@mci.com.  This file is presented for
general information and not as a substitute for competent legal
advice about specific situations.)

*    Software technology can be patentable.  Notable examples are
     methods implemented in software and "machines" that consist
     of computers with programs loaded.  "Mathematical"
     algorithms are not now patentable, but that may change
     someday.

*    Patent protection may be available for new, useful, and
     "unobvious" inventions such as:

     =    Major software systems;

     =    Critical "bits of cleverness" that go into such a
          system;

     =    User interfaces;

     =    Software-controlled machines (a machine with a new
          program loaded is physically a "new" machine).

*    In the U.S., patent applications must be filed **no later
     than** one year after the **earliest** of the following
     events (among others):

     =    the first "offer" for sale (or license) of the
          invention.  Even a single offer, without a completed
          sale, is enough to start the clock running.  The
          invention need not necessarily be "complete" for the
          clock to start running.  In this area, small variations
          in facts can lead to big differences in the outcome;

     =    the first "public use" of the invention.  Use for
          **gain**, even if in secret (e.g., some forms of beta
          testing), may be public use.  "Experimental" use might
          not be public use even if it occurred openly and/or for
          gain.  Here again, small variations in facts can lead
          to big differences in the outcome;

     =    the first "publication" of the invention.

*    Most foreign countries do not allow the one-year grace
     period for filing a patent application that is available in
     the U.S.

*    In the U.S., a patent application must contain an "enabling
     disclosure" that would enable a person of ordinary skill in
     the relevant art to make and use the invention without
     "undue" experimentation.  

*    A U.S. patent application must also describe the "best mode"
     known to the inventor (at the time of filing the
     application) of practicing the invention, e.g., known blind
     alleys to avoid, preferred techniques, and the like.

*    Software patent applications usually include one or more of
     flow charts, data flow diagrams, pseudocode, or even source
     code.  Many times, a good user manual can be "mined" for
     text to include in the patent application, thus reducing the
     cost of preparing the application.

*    Software patent applications are not cheap.  A moderately
     complex application will probably cost $5,000 to $10,000 to
     prepare and file.  Very complex applications (e.g., that
     describe complete major systems) can cost $20,000 and up.