UPDATED: US Supreme Court tightens 'obvious' patent rules

By Simon Aughton and Reuters

Posted on 1 May 2007 at 08:21

Thomas Goldstein, a lawyer for Teleflex, said the decision would affect trillions of dollars in investments in intellectual property.

'There will be a surge in patent fights during the struggle to decide exactly how tough the justices intend to be on securing a patent,' Goldstein predicted.

Microsoft said that the ruling that US patents do not apply internationally adds clarity and balance to the patent system.

'This decision promotes a global patent system that works,' senior vice president and general counsel Brad Smith said in a statement. 'The ruling ensures that US courts, like courts elsewhere, can respect the patent laws of other countries, helping promote co-operation among patent systems worldwide.'

He said that Microsoft also welcomed the court's decision that applies the patent law to software in the same way that it is applied to other inventions.

'The patent system remains one of the country's fundamental engines of economic growth,' Smith said. 'It is important for patent laws to continue to provide an incentive to innovate for software, just as it does throughout the rest of the economy.'

Snith added that he believes that the damage awards against Microsoft in both the Alcatel-Lucent and Eolas cases will be revisited in light of this ruling.