由美國Alice v. CLS Bank案探討電腦軟體相關發明之專利適格性

Patent Eligibility of Software Related Inventions in Light of the Alice v. CLS Bank Decision

電腦軟體相關發明（又稱軟體專利）是否可予專利保護？又倘給予其專利保護，則應如何建立合理的審查標準？電腦軟體因其本質上係由數學公式、演算法、人類心智活動等不予專利保護之抽象概念所組成；如輕易給予其專利保護，反而可能帶來負面影響而悖於專利目的。而美國在State Street Bank v. Signature Financial案採用較為寬鬆的「有用、具體暨有形測試法」認定發明之專利適格性後，美國專利商標局核准大量的軟體專利，進而導致劣質專利過於浮濫、「專利流氓」及「專利叢林」等問題，使美國法院不得不再省思電腦軟體相關發明於專利法上之保護是否應更加謹慎，並思考如何適度保護軟體專利、劃定抽象概念範圍，以及為其建立合適的專利適格性檢驗標準，以在保護發明人之私益與使他人得自由發明之公益間取得平衡，達到鼓勵發明、促進技術及產業發展之專利目的。
西元（下同）2014年6月19日美國聯邦最高法院之Alice Corp v. CLS Bank Int’l案（下稱Alice案）判決建立一套專利適格性審查流程「二步驟檢驗架構」，以區別專利請求項之範圍係自然法則、自然現象或抽象概念（司法例外）本身，或係屬上述司法例外之應用而具專利適格性：第一步驟，是否指向上述司法例外；如是，則進入第二步驟，考量專利請求項是否符合「顯著超過」概念；該二步驟即屬於尋找發明概念，也就是請求項中之元件、要素或元件、要素之組合須使該發明的內容「顯著超過」上述不具專利適格性之司法例外本身；電腦軟體相關發明常被認為涉及抽象概念，Alice案判決指出有二個因素可協助判斷是否符合「顯著超過」概念：1.該發明是有一新且獨特的想法，且非屬於不使用電腦亦得以人工完成之單純自動化作業；2.該發明是否精進、提升技術。而在Alice案判決後，美國專利商標局隨即於同年6月25日發布如何應用該案之審查指令，並依據Alice案之觀點撤銷許多關於電腦軟體相關發明的專利或駁回類似之申請案；在一個半月內，美國專利商標局依據Alice案之觀點撤回830件已核准專利之申請案；而在一年後應用Alice案判決之審查單位，包括專利審判暨上訴委員會、地方法院及美國聯邦巡迴上訴法院，共有272件涉及電腦軟體相發明之案例，總計有345個專利或專利申請案，其中有286個被認定無效，無效比例高達82.9％；以上數據顯示在Alice案判決後，在美國之專利審查及司法實務上，確有受到一定程度之影響。因此，Alice案對於電腦軟體相關發明專利適格性之爭議及發展具有舉足輕重的地位，該案也被認為是2014年中最具代表性之美國聯邦最高法院判決。
鑒於我國專利法多參考美國專利法制之發展而作更動，且我國電腦軟體相關產業在美國上亦有申請專利之需求，故本文將探討Alice案之判決、該判決之後續影響、我國專利法相關議題之發展等，並依循電腦軟體相關發明專利適格性之發展趨勢提出若干申請專利時之建議，以供專利申請人參考。

Whether software related inventions should be protected by patents is debatable. If the answer is positive, how to establish a reasonable standard of determination? Computer software is essentially composed of mathematical formula, algorithms, and human mental activity which fall into patent ineligible abstract idea or principle. Providing patent protection to computer software could bring a negative impact to society. This is contradict to the purpose of patent system. After the State Street Bank v. Signature Financial decision, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit adopted the “useful, concrete, and tangible result test” and the United States Patent and Trademark Office granted thousands of software patents and lead to many bad quality patents were issued, patent troll, patent thicket, etc. The U.S court have to ponder over the issues that and software related inventions be mindfully protected by patent. Consider how to protect software patents correctly, set the scope of abstract idea, and establish proper standard of patent eligibility test. It have to strike the balance between protecting inventors and not granting monopolies over procedures that others would discover by independent, creative application of general principles, and achieve patent’s purpose that encourage invention and promote technology and industry development.
The 2014 Supreme Court Alice v. CLS Bank decision set forth a two-step framework to determine the patent eligibility. The framework is used to distinguish patents that claim laws of nature, natural phenomena, and abstract ideas from those that claim patent-eligible applications of those concepts. The first step, is to determine whether the invention covers an judicially recognized exceptions and Secondly, is to determine whether the invention adds “significantly more”. The courts have described step two of this analysis as a search for an “inventive concept” i.e., an element or combination of elements that is sufficient to ensure that the patent in practice amounts to significantly more than a patent upon the judicially recognized exceptions itself. While a software patent will usually be deemed as covering an abstract idea, there are three factors that will help determine whether the invention adds significantly more: (a) whether the patent is directed toward a new and unique idea and not simply automating what others have accomplished without the use of a computer, and (b) whether it serves to advance technology. After the Alice’s decision, The USPTO released a guidance memorandum to the Examining Corps instructing how to implement the Alice standard on June 25, 2014. Following Alice, 830 patent applications were withdrawn from the USPTO between July 1 and August 15, 2014. One year since its issuance, the Alice decision has been applied by the PTAB, district courts, and the Federal Circuit to invalidate or reject software-based patent claims resulting in a total of 286 invalidations out of 345 patents or patent applications. With few decisions upholding patent-eligibility, the post-Alice trend has been overwhelmingly against software-based patent claims with an average invalidation rate of 82.9%. The statistics illustrate Alice effects American experiences and plays an important role in patent eligibility for software related inventions. Alice is also considered to be the most representative of the Supreme Court of the United States in 2014.
Given that the change of Taiwan’s patent law usually refer to the development of American experiences and Taiwan’s software related industry have need for patent application in the United State. This article review Alice’s decision, the effect of Alice, the development of Taiwan’s software related inventions and provide some recommendations for future software patent applicants according to the development trend of patent eligibility for software related inventions.