A Study On The Patentable Subjects Of Computer Software

Computer software has played a major role in promoting economic and changing social lifestyles. In some areas, such as communication and network industry, just computer software itself can complete a major technological innovation without any change on hardware. Computer software is gradually emerging from the limitations of particular or specific hardware, and can be used in general hardware device or virtual things.On the other hand, the software patent protection has experienced more complex and tortuous process. Computer software was protected only by copyright law once before, and it can be protected by patent law only in some specific subjects of which the number continues to add. In this process, the intensity of software protection by patent laws ranges from small to large, facing the existence of radical and conservative opinion. Currently, most countries and regions require the combination of specific hardware and software to be the subject area of computer software patents. They insist that computer software itself can not be protected by the patent laws.Based on the recognition and acceptance of computer software in major countries and regions, this paper studies the subjects of patent protection, focuses on the opinion and doctrine that can affect the patentability of computer software from the needs of protecting computer software itself by patent law, gives analysis and evaluation, and researches perspective of the theory and the theory difficulties of not protecting computer software itself by patent law. This paper concludes that computer software itself can be the subject of patent protection without the combination of hardware.By researching and summarizing these issues, we can understand and appreciate the patentability of computer software more clearly, provide ideas of how to promote China's computer software industry by using patent protection.