資訊產業是我國與國際接軌的重要產業之一,美國林肯總統曾說過:「專利制度好比在天才之火上澆下利益的燃料」,而產業的蓬勃需要維繫在健全制度之下,對於資訊產業亦然。軟體專利的爭議始終不斷,似乎現今我們正處在軟體專利叢林密佈、專利流氓橫行的時代,許多人士表示軟體專利實在是一荒謬之制度,更有團體致力於終結軟體專利。本研究將針對「軟體專利標的適格性」加以研究,探討什麼樣的電腦軟體相關請求項 (claim)宜或不宜屬於專利法所保護的範疇。本研究將統計我國過往之專利申請之訴願案件及行政訴訟,再對照歐美之實務發展,以評估我國2008年版電腦軟體相關發明審查基準在專利標的適格性方面之規定。
Information technology is one of the significant industries of Taiwan. Abraham Lincoln stated that ”the patent system added the fuel of interest to the fire of genius.” Therefore, a good patent system can promote the development of industries, including the IT industry. It seems that we are living in one age with so many disputes about software patent, in which there are patent thickets and patent trolls everywhere. Many people argue that software patent is an absurdity, and many groups try to end software patent. This article focuses on “software patent subject matter eligibility” to discuss which kinds of software related claim should be classified into patentable subject matter. This article also gathers cases of petition and administrative litigation related to software patent prosecution in our country, and compares them with those of Europe and America to analyze the Software Patent Examination Guidelines in 2008 of Taiwan.