CINXE.COM

<!DOCTYPE html> <html class="client-nojs" lang="en" dir="ltr"> <head> <meta charset="UTF-8"/> <title>Software is math - software patents wiki (ESP Wiki)</title> <script>/*<![CDATA[*/// @license magnet:?xt=urn:btih:cf05388f2679ee054f2beb29a391d25f4e673ac3&dn=gpl-2.0.txt GPL-2.0-or-Later document.documentElement.className = document.documentElement.className.replace( /(^|\s)client-nojs(\s|$)/, "$1client-js$2" ); // @license-end/*]]>*/</script> <script>(window.RLQ=window.RLQ||[]).push(function(){mw.config.set({"wgCanonicalNamespace":"","wgCanonicalSpecialPageName":false,"wgNamespaceNumber":0,"wgPageName":"Software_is_math","wgTitle":"Software is math","wgCurRevisionId":38566,"wgRevisionId":38566,"wgArticleId":547,"wgIsArticle":true,"wgIsRedirect":false,"wgAction":"view","wgUserName":null,"wgUserGroups":["*"],"wgCategories":["Pages with requests for help","Unprocessed links","Pages linking to documents in German","Arguments"],"wgBreakFrames":false,"wgPageContentLanguage":"en","wgPageContentModel":"wikitext","wgSeparatorTransformTable":["",""],"wgDigitTransformTable":["",""],"wgDefaultDateFormat":"dmy","wgMonthNames":["","January","February","March","April","May","June","July","August","September","October","November","December"],"wgMonthNamesShort":["","Jan","Feb","Mar","Apr","May","Jun","Jul","Aug","Sep","Oct","Nov","Dec"],"wgRelevantPageName":"Software_is_math","wgRelevantArticleId":547,"wgRequestId":"68045d2631f9467c54887193","wgIsProbablyEditable":false,"wgRelevantPageIsProbablyEditable":false,"wgRestrictionEdit":[],"wgRestrictionMove":[],"wgCategoryTreePageCategoryOptions":"{\"mode\":0,\"hideprefix\":20,\"showcount\":true,\"namespaces\":false}","wgWikiEditorEnabledModules":[]});mw.loader.state({"site.styles":"ready","noscript":"ready","user.styles":"ready","user":"ready","user.options":"ready","user.tokens":"loading","ext.cite.styles":"ready","mediawiki.skinning.content.externallinks":"ready","skins.timeless":"ready","skins.timeless.misc":"ready","mediawiki.legacy.shared":"ready","mediawiki.legacy.commonPrint":"ready","mediawiki.sectionAnchor":"ready"});mw.loader.implement("user.tokens@0pmr5mh",function($,jQuery,require,module){/*@nomin*/mw.user.tokens.set({"editToken":"+\\","patrolToken":"+\\","watchToken":"+\\","csrfToken":"+\\"}); });mw.loader.load(["ext.cite.a11y","site","mediawiki.page.startup","mediawiki.user","mediawiki.hidpi","mediawiki.page.ready","mediawiki.toc","mediawiki.searchSuggest","skins.timeless.js","skins.timeless.mobile"]);});</script> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/w/load.php?debug=false&lang=en&modules=ext.cite.styles%7Cmediawiki.legacy.commonPrint%2Cshared%7Cmediawiki.sectionAnchor%7Cmediawiki.skinning.content.externallinks%7Cskins.timeless%7Cskins.timeless.misc&only=styles&skin=timeless"/> <script async="" src="/w/load.php?debug=false&lang=en&modules=startup&only=scripts&skin=timeless"></script> <meta name="ResourceLoaderDynamicStyles" content=""/> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/w/load.php?debug=false&lang=en&modules=site.styles&only=styles&skin=timeless"/> <meta name="generator" content="MediaWiki 1.31.16"/> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0, user-scalable=yes, minimum-scale=0.25, maximum-scale=5.0"/> <link rel="shortcut icon" href="/w/favicon.ico"/> <link rel="search" type="application/opensearchdescription+xml" href="/w/opensearch_desc.php" title="ESP Wiki (en)"/> <link rel="EditURI" type="application/rsd+xml" href="https://wiki.endsoftwarepatents.org/w/api.php?action=rsd"/> <link rel="license" href="https://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html"/> <link rel="alternate" type="application/atom+xml" title="ESP Wiki Atom feed" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:RecentChanges&feed=atom"/> <script type="text/javascript"> /* GPL-2.0-or-later * * @licstart The following is the entire license notice for the * JavaScript code in this page * * MediaWiki contributors, including those listed in the CREDITS file, * hold the copyright to this work. * * This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify * it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by * the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or * (at your option) any later version. * * This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the * GNU General Public License for more details. * * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along * with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc., * 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA. * * @licend The above is the entire license notice * for the JavaScript code in this page. */ </script>  </head> <body class="mediawiki ltr sitedir-ltr mw-hide-empty-elt ns-0 ns-subject page-Software_is_math rootpage-Software_is_math skin-timeless action-view"><div id="mw-wrapper"><div id="mw-header-container" class="ts-container"><div id="mw-header" class="ts-inner"><div id="user-tools"><div id="personal"><h2><span>Anonymous</span><div class="pokey"></div></h2><div id="personal-inner" class="dropdown"><div role="navigation" class="mw-portlet" id="p-personal" aria-labelledby="p-personal-label"><h3 id="p-personal-label" lang="en" dir="ltr">Not logged in</h3><div class="mw-portlet-body"><ul><li id="pt-createaccount"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:CreateAccount&returnto=Software+is+math" title="You are encouraged to create an account and log in; however, it is not mandatory"><span>Create account</span></a></li><li id="pt-login"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:UserLogin&returnto=Software+is+math" title="You are encouraged to log in; however, it is not mandatory [o]" accesskey="o"><span>Log in</span></a></li></ul></div></div></div></div></div><div id="p-logo-text" class="mw-portlet" role="banner"><a id="p-banner" class="mw-wiki-title" href="/wiki/Main_Page">ESP Wiki</a></div><div class="mw-portlet" id="p-search"><h3 lang="en" dir="ltr"><label for="searchInput">Search</label></h3><form action="/w/index.php" id="searchform"><div id="simpleSearch"><div id="searchInput-container"><input type="search" name="search" placeholder="Search 687 pages" title="Search ESP Wiki [f]" accesskey="f" id="searchInput"/></div><input type="hidden" value="Special:Search" name="title"/><input type="submit" name="fulltext" value="Search" title="Search the pages for this text" id="mw-searchButton" class="searchButton mw-fallbackSearchButton"/><input type="submit" name="go" value="Go" title="Go to a page with this exact name if it exists" id="searchButton" class="searchButton"/></div></form></div></div><div class="visualClear"></div></div><div id="mw-header-hack" class="color-bar"><div class="color-middle-container"><div class="color-middle"></div></div><div class="color-left"></div><div class="color-right"></div></div><div id="mw-header-nav-hack"><div class="color-bar"><div class="color-middle-container"><div class="color-middle"></div></div><div class="color-left"></div><div class="color-right"></div></div></div><div id="menus-cover"></div><div id="mw-content-container" class="ts-container"><div id="mw-content-block" class="ts-inner"><div id="mw-site-navigation"><div id="p-logo" class="mw-portlet" role="banner"><a class="mw-wiki-logo" href="/wiki/Main_Page" title="Visit the main page"></a></div><div id="site-navigation" class="sidebar-chunk"><h2><span>Navigation</span><div class="pokey"></div></h2><div class="sidebar-inner"><div role="navigation" class="mw-portlet" id="p-Navigation" aria-labelledby="p-Navigation-label"><h3 id="p-Navigation-label" lang="en" dir="ltr">Navigation</h3><div class="mw-portlet-body"><ul><li id="n-mainpage-description"><a href="/wiki/Main_Page" title="Visit the main page [z]" accesskey="z"><span>Main page</span></a></li><li id="n-Category-tree"><a href="https://en.swpat.org/wiki?title=Special:CategoryTree&target=Top_level_category" rel="nofollow"><span>Category tree</span></a></li><li id="n-recentchanges"><a href="/wiki/Special:RecentChanges" title="A list of recent changes in the wiki [r]" accesskey="r"><span>Recent changes</span></a></li><li id="n-About-ESP-Wiki"><a href="/wiki/ESP_Wiki:About"><span>About ESP Wiki</span></a></li><li id="n-Discuss-ESP-Wiki"><a href="/wiki/ESP_Wiki:Community_portal"><span>Discuss ESP Wiki</span></a></li><li id="n-help"><a href="https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Help:Contents" title="The place to find out"><span>Help</span></a></li></ul></div></div><div role="navigation" class="mw-portlet" id="p-Contributing" aria-labelledby="p-Contributing-label"><h3 id="p-Contributing-label" lang="en" dir="ltr">Contributing</h3><div class="mw-portlet-body"><ul><li id="n-Style-guide"><a href="/wiki/ESP_Wiki:Style_guide"><span>Style guide</span></a></li><li id="n-Citation-schemes"><a href="/wiki/Category:Citation_schemes"><span>Citation schemes</span></a></li></ul></div></div><div role="navigation" class="mw-portlet" id="p-End_Software_Patents" aria-labelledby="p-End_Software_Patents-label"><h3 id="p-End_Software_Patents-label" lang="en" dir="ltr">End Software Patents</h3><div class="mw-portlet-body"><ul><li id="n-Homepage"><a href="https://endsoftpatents.org/" rel="nofollow"><span>Homepage</span></a></li><li id="n-Donate.21"><a href="https://my.fsf.org/civicrm/contribute/transact?reset=1&id=17" rel="nofollow"><span>Donate!</span></a></li></ul></div></div><div role="navigation" class="mw-portlet" id="p-Get_involved" aria-labelledby="p-Get_involved-label"><h3 id="p-Get_involved-label" lang="en" dir="ltr">Get involved</h3><div class="mw-portlet-body"><ul><li id="n-ESP-announcements"><a href="https://my.fsf.org/civicrm/mailing/subscribe?reset=1&gid=196" rel="nofollow"><span>ESP announcements</span></a></li><li id="n-ESP-internal-list"><a href="https://lists.endsoftwarepatents.org/mailman/listinfo/esp" rel="nofollow"><span>ESP internal list</span></a></li><li id="n-ESP-action-alerts"><a href="https://lists.endsoftwarepatents.org/mailman/listinfo/esp-action-alert" rel="nofollow"><span>ESP action alerts</span></a></li></ul></div></div></div></div><div id="site-tools" class="sidebar-chunk"><h2><span>Wiki tools</span><div class="pokey"></div></h2><div class="sidebar-inner"><div role="navigation" class="mw-portlet" id="p-tb" aria-labelledby="p-tb-label"><h3 id="p-tb-label" lang="en" dir="ltr">Wiki tools</h3><div class="mw-portlet-body"><ul><li id="t-specialpages"><a href="/wiki/Special:SpecialPages" title="A list of all special pages [q]" accesskey="q"><span>Special pages</span></a></li></ul></div></div></div></div></div><div id="mw-related-navigation"><div id="page-tools" class="sidebar-chunk"><h2><span>Page tools</span><div class="pokey"></div></h2><div class="sidebar-inner"><div role="navigation" class="mw-portlet emptyPortlet" id="p-cactions" aria-labelledby="p-cactions-label"><h3 id="p-cactions-label" lang="en" dir="ltr">Page tools</h3><div class="mw-portlet-body"><ul></ul></div></div><div role="navigation" class="mw-portlet emptyPortlet" id="p-userpagetools" aria-labelledby="p-userpagetools-label"><h3 id="p-userpagetools-label" lang="en" dir="ltr">Userpage tools</h3><div class="mw-portlet-body"><ul></ul></div></div><div role="navigation" class="mw-portlet" id="p-pagemisc" aria-labelledby="p-pagemisc-label"><h3 id="p-pagemisc-label" lang="en" dir="ltr">More</h3><div class="mw-portlet-body"><ul><li id="t-whatlinkshere"><a href="/wiki/Special:WhatLinksHere/Software_is_math" title="A list of all wiki pages that link here [j]" accesskey="j"><span>What links here</span></a></li><li id="t-recentchangeslinked"><a href="/wiki/Special:RecentChangesLinked/Software_is_math" rel="nofollow" title="Recent changes in pages linked from this page [k]" accesskey="k"><span>Related changes</span></a></li><li id="t-print"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Software_is_math&printable=yes" rel="alternate" title="Printable version of this page [p]" accesskey="p"><span>Printable version</span></a></li><li id="t-permalink"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Software_is_math&oldid=38566" title="Permanent link to this revision of the page"><span>Permanent link</span></a></li><li id="t-info"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Software_is_math&action=info" title="More information about this page"><span>Page information</span></a></li><li id="t-pagelog"><a href="/wiki/Special:Log/Software_is_math"><span>Page logs</span></a></li></ul></div></div></div></div><div id="catlinks-sidebar" class="sidebar-chunk"><h2><span>Categories</span><div class="pokey"></div></h2><div class="sidebar-inner"><div role="navigation" class="mw-portlet" id="p-catlist-normal" aria-labelledby="p-catlist-normal-label"><h3 id="p-catlist-normal-label" lang="en" dir="ltr">Categories</h3><div class="mw-portlet-body"><ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Arguments"><span>Arguments</span></a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Pages_linking_to_documents_in_German"><span>Pages linking to documents in German</span></a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Pages_with_requests_for_help"><span>Pages with requests for help</span></a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Unprocessed_links"><span>Unprocessed links</span></a></li></ul></div></div></div></div></div><div id="mw-content"><div id="content" class="mw-body" role="main"><div id="siteNotice"><div id="localNotice" lang="en" dir="ltr"><div class="mw-parser-output"><div class="site-notice" style="background-size: 70% !important;">ESP Wiki is looking for moderators and active contributors!</div> </div></div></div><div class="mw-indicators mw-body-content"> </div> <h1 id="firstHeading" class="firstHeading">Software is math</h1><div id="mw-page-header-links"><div role="navigation" class="mw-portlet" id="p-namespaces" aria-labelledby="p-namespaces-label"><h3 id="p-namespaces-label" lang="en" dir="ltr">Namespaces</h3><div class="mw-portlet-body"><ul><li id="ca-nstab-main" class="selected"><a href="/wiki/Software_is_math" title="View the content page [c]" accesskey="c"><span>Page</span></a></li><li id="ca-talk"><a href="/wiki/Talk:Software_is_math" rel="discussion" title="Discussion about the content page [t]" accesskey="t"><span>Discussion</span></a></li></ul></div></div><div role="navigation" class="mw-portlet" id="p-views" aria-labelledby="p-views-label"><h3 id="p-views-label" lang="en" dir="ltr">Page actions</h3><div class="mw-portlet-body"><ul><li id="ca-view" class="selected"><a href="/wiki/Software_is_math" redundant="1"><span>View</span></a></li><li id="ca-viewsource"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Software_is_math&action=edit" title="This page is protected.
You can view its source [e]" accesskey="e"><span>View source</span></a></li><li id="ca-history"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Software_is_math&action=history" title="Past revisions of this page [h]" accesskey="h"><span>History</span></a></li><li id="ca-more" class="dropdown-toggle"><span>More</span></li></ul></div></div></div><div class="visualClear"></div><div class="mw-body-content" id="bodyContent"><div id="contentSub"></div><div id="mw-content-text" lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr"><div class="mw-parser-output"><div style="float:right; clear: right; border:4px solid #eb8; margin: 0 0 0.5em 1em; padding:0em 0.4em 0em 0.2em; color:#000; background:#ffd;"><center><b>Legislative proposals</b></center> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/How_to_write_a_law_banning_software_patents" class="mw-redirect" title="How to write a law banning software patents">Writing proposals</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Excluding_software_from_patentability" title="Excluding software from patentability">Excluding software</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Shielding_software_from_litigation" title="Shielding software from litigation">Shielding software</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Choosing_words_to_use_in_legal_proposals" title="Choosing words to use in legal proposals">Choosing words</a></li></ul> <hr /> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/EU_2005_proposed_amendments" title="EU 2005 proposed amendments">EU amendments, 2005</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/New_Zealand_Patents_Bill_235" class="mw-redirect" title="New Zealand Patents Bill 235">New Zealand law, 2013</a></li></ul> </div> <p><b>Mathematical formulas</b> are generally recognised as non-patentable because math is not <a href="/wiki/Patentable_subject_matter" title="Patentable subject matter">patentable subject matter</a>. </p><p>Since the logic (idea) of software can be reduced to a mathematical formula (idea) with Church-Turing Thesis, and because mathematical formulas (idea) are not patentable, patent applications for software ideas should be rejected. </p><p>Respected computer scientist <a href="/wiki/Donald_Knuth" class="mw-redirect" title="Donald Knuth">Donald Knuth</a> makes the argument: </p> <blockquote> <p><i>To a computer scientist, this makes no sense, because every algorithm is as mathematical as anything could be. An algorithm is an abstract concept unrelated to physical laws of the universe.</i><sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1">[1]</a></sup> </p> </blockquote> <div id="toc" class="toc"><div class="toctitle" lang="en" dir="ltr"><h2>Contents</h2></div> <ul> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1"><a href="#Math_is_not_patentable"><span class="tocnumber">1</span> <span class="toctext">Math is not patentable</span></a> <ul> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-2"><a href="#Case_law_in_the_USA"><span class="tocnumber">1.1</span> <span class="toctext">Case law in the USA</span></a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-3"><a href="#Some_judges_say_math_is_patentable"><span class="tocnumber">2</span> <span class="toctext">Some judges say math is patentable</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-4"><a href="#Church-Turing_Thesis_or_Curry-Howard_isomorphism.3F"><span class="tocnumber">3</span> <span class="toctext">Church-Turing Thesis or Curry-Howard isomorphism?</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-5"><a href="#EPO_says_software_is_math"><span class="tocnumber">4</span> <span class="toctext">EPO says software is math</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-6"><a href="#Related_pages"><span class="tocnumber">5</span> <span class="toctext">Related pages</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-7"><a href="#External_links"><span class="tocnumber">6</span> <span class="toctext">External links</span></a> <ul> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-8"><a href="#PolR.27s_articles_on_Groklaw"><span class="tocnumber">6.1</span> <span class="toctext">PolR's articles on Groklaw</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-9"><a href="#Counter_arguments"><span class="tocnumber">6.2</span> <span class="toctext">Counter arguments</span></a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-10"><a href="#References"><span class="tocnumber">7</span> <span class="toctext">References</span></a></li> </ul> </div> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Math_is_not_patentable">Math is not patentable</span></h2> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Case_law_in_the_USA">Case law in the USA</span></h3> <p>In the USA, math is unpatentable because it is a "law of nature", that is to say a "scientific truth", and as such it can never be "invented", only "discovered", and patents are not granted for discoveries. </p><p>The non-patentability of math was confirmed in the case <a href="/wiki/Parker_v._Flook_(1978,_USA)" class="mw-redirect" title="Parker v. Flook (1978, USA)">Parker v. Flook (1978, USA)</a>: </p> <blockquote> <p><i>Respondent's method for updating alarm limits during catalytic conversion processes, in which the only novel feature is a mathematical formula, held not patentable under 101 of the Patent Act.</i> </p> </blockquote> <p>Also, in the 1948 case <i>Funk Bros. v. Kalo Inoculant</i>: </p> <blockquote> <p><i>He who discovers a hitherto unknown phenomenon of nature has no claim to a monopoly of it which the law recognizes. If there is to be invention from such a discovery, it must come from the application of the law of nature to a new and useful end.</i><sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2">[2]</a></sup> </p> </blockquote> <p>Ideas which <i>use</i> math can be patentable, but this is not controversial: </p> <blockquote> <p><i>While a scientific truth, or the mathematical expression of it, is not patentable invention, a novel and useful structure created with the aid of knowledge of scientific truth may be.</i><sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3">[3]</a></sup> </p> </blockquote> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Some_judges_say_math_is_patentable">Some judges say math is patentable</span></h2> <p>In the 2011 UK High Court <a href="/wiki/The_Halliburton_rulings_by_UK_High_Court_-_2005-2011" class="mw-redirect" title="The Halliburton rulings by UK High Court - 2005-2011">decision on the Halliburton case</a>, the judge said that math can be patentable because: </p> <blockquote> <p>the data on which the mathematics is performed ... represent’s something concrete (a drill bit design). </p> </blockquote> <p>Also in 2011, the <a href="/wiki/US_CAFC_Cybersource_v._Retail_16_Aug_2011" class="mw-redirect" title="US CAFC Cybersource v. Retail 16 Aug 2011">US CAFC Cybersource v. Retail 16 Aug 2011</a> case, an algorithm was held patentable because: </p> <blockquote> <p>as a practical matter, the use of a computer is required. </p> </blockquote> <h2><span id="Church-Turing_Thesis_or_Curry-Howard_isomorphism?"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="Church-Turing_Thesis_or_Curry-Howard_isomorphism.3F">Church-Turing Thesis or Curry-Howard isomorphism?</span></h2> <p>There are two mathematical bases that can be used to make this argument.<span style="color: white; background-color: #242424; padding: 4px; padding-right: 8px; border-left: #607b7d 6px solid; border-radius: 30px; display: inline-block;"><b>Can <i>you</i> help? This page was written by a non-specialist. Any help would be appreciated.</b></span><br /> </p><p><br /> The Church-Turing Thesis is the more commonly used based. It is discussed by some documents linked in the <a href="#External_links">#External links</a> section. </p><p>Another approach would be the Curry-Howard isomorphism, which demonstrates that computer programs are equivalent to mathematical proofs. If proofs are unpatentable, then computer programs must be too. </p> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="EPO_says_software_is_math">EPO says software is math</span></h2> <p>According to the EPO, as written in <a href="/wiki/EPO_EBoA_referral_G3-08" title="EPO EBoA referral G3-08">EPO EBoA referral G3-08</a> (<i>page 12 of 18</i>): </p> <blockquote> <p>computer programs were to be understood as a 'mathematical application of a logical series of steps in a process which was no different from a mathematical method </p> </blockquote> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Related_pages">Related pages</span></h2> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Anti-lock_braking_example" title="Anti-lock braking example">Anti-lock braking example</a> - if the physical car invention is patentable, should an in-computer game-simulation be?</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Books" class="mw-redirect" title="Books">Books</a>: <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Math_You_Can%27t_Use" title="Math You Can't Use">Math You Can't Use</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/The_Karmarkar_Patent_and_Software_-_Is_Math_Patentable%3F" title="The Karmarkar Patent and Software - Is Math Patentable?">The Karmarkar Patent and Software - Is Math Patentable?</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Software_does_not_make_a_computer_a_new_machine" title="Software does not make a computer a new machine">Software does not make a computer a new machine</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Australia#Case_law" title="Australia">Australia#Case law</a> - patents on math might be valid in Australia</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Pen_and_paper_patents" title="Pen and paper patents">Pen and paper patents</a> - what if math is <i>so</i> complicated, a pen and paper are required?</li></ul> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="External_links">External links</span></h2> <center><div class="warnbox" style="width: 80%; border-left: 6px solid #607B7D; padding: 0em 0.4em 0em 0.2em; color: white; background:#242424; text-align:center;"> <p><a href="/wiki/Template:Warnbox" title="Template:Warnbox"><img alt="Red alert.png" src="/w/images/f/fe/Red_alert.png" width="18" height="18" /></a> <b>This entry contains <a href="/wiki/Category:Unprocessed_links" title="Category:Unprocessed links">unprocessed external links</a>.</b><br />The "External links" section should only contain links to related websites, not articles. You can help us digest the information contained in these links and include it in the body of the article with appropriate <a href="/wiki/Category:Citation_schemes" title="Category:Citation schemes">citations</a>. </p> </div></center> <ul><li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.bu.edu/law/central/jd/organizations/journals/scitech/volume141/documents/Klemens.pdf">The Rise Of The Information Processing Patent</a>, by <b><a href="/wiki/Ben_Klemens" class="mw-redirect" title="Ben Klemens">Ben Klemens</a></b> (<i>Church-Turing</i> is discussed on page 8)</li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church%E2%80%93Turing_thesis">Church-Turing thesis</a>, <b>Wikipedia</b></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curry%E2%80%93Howard_correspondence">Curry–Howard isomorphism</a>, <b>Wikipedia</b></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.qulix.com/">Offshore Software Development</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/08/appeals-court-says-only-complicated-math-is-patentable.ars">Does not compute: [US] court says only hard math is patentable</a>, Aug 2011, <b><a href="/wiki/Timothy_B._Lee" class="mw-redirect" title="Timothy B. Lee">Timothy B. Lee</a></b></li> <li><b>(in German)</b> <a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="http://www.users.sbg.ac.at/~jack/legal/swp/tech-turing-lambda.pdf">http://www.users.sbg.ac.at/~jack/legal/swp/tech-turing-lambda.pdf</a></li></ul> <h3><span id="PolR's_articles_on_Groklaw"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="PolR.27s_articles_on_Groklaw">PolR's articles on Groklaw</span></h3> <p>(Oldest first) </p> <ul><li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20091111151305785">An Explanation of Computation Theory for Lawyers</a>, 11 Nov 2009</li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=2010092621054289">Physical Aspects of Mathematics (An Open Response to the USPTO)</a>, 27 Sep 2010, (submission to <a href="/wiki/USPTO_2010_consultation" title="USPTO 2010 consultation">USPTO 2010 consultation</a>)</li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20110908075658894">A Simpler Explanation of Why Software is Mathematics</a>, 8 Sep 2011</li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20110426051819346">1 + 1 (pat. pending) — Mathematics, Software and Free Speech</a>, 26 Apr 2011</li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20121013192858600">What Does "Software Is Mathematics" Mean? Part 1 - Software Is Manipulation of Symbols</a>, 13 Oct 2012</li></ul> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Counter_arguments">Counter arguments</span></h3> <ul><li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2008/12/15/computer-software-is-not-math/">Computer Software is Not Math</a>, 15 Dec 2008, <b><a href="/wiki/IP_Watchdog" title="IP Watchdog">IP Watchdog</a></b></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://andrewchin.com/chin/scholarship/abstraction-equivalence.pdf">On Abstraction and Equivalence in Software Patent Doctrine: A Response to Bessen, Meurer, and Klemens</a> (challenging, inter alia, Klemens's "<i>repeated mischaracterizations of the Church-Turing Thesis</i>")</li></ul> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="References">References</span></h2> <div class="mw-references-wrap"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-1">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="http://progfree.org/Patents/knuth-to-pto.txt">http://progfree.org/Patents/knuth-to-pto.txt</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-2">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cgi-bin/getcase.pl?navby=case&court=us&vol=333&invol=127#130">http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cgi-bin/getcase.pl?navby=case&court=us&vol=333&invol=127#130</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-3">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cgi-bin/getcase.pl?navby=case&court=us&vol=306&invol=86#94">http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cgi-bin/getcase.pl?navby=case&court=us&vol=306&invol=86#94</a></span> </li> </ol></div> <p><br /> </p> <table class="wikitable"> <tbody><tr> <th colspan="3" style="border: 1px solid #c3c3c3;"><a href="/wiki/Category:Arguments" title="Category:Arguments">Why abolish software patents</a> </th></tr> <tr> <th style="color: white; background-color: #607b7d; border: 1px solid #c3c3c3;">Why abolish <i>software</i> patents </th> <td colspan="2"><a href="/wiki/Why_focus_only_on_software" title="Why focus only on software">Why focus only on software</a> · <a href="/wiki/Why_software_is_different" title="Why software is different">Why software is different</a> · <a href="/wiki/Software_patent_quality_worse_than_all_other_fields" title="Software patent quality worse than all other fields">Software patent quality worse than all other fields</a> · <a href="/wiki/Harm_caused_by_all_types_of_patents" title="Harm caused by all types of patents">Harm caused by all types of patents</a> </td></tr> <tr> <th style="color: white; background-color: #607b7d; border: 1px solid #c3c3c3;">Legal arguments </th> <td colspan="2"><a class="mw-selflink selflink">Software is math</a> · <a href="/wiki/Software_is_too_abstract" class="mw-redirect" title="Software is too abstract">Software is too abstract</a> · <a href="/wiki/Software_does_not_make_a_computer_a_new_machine" title="Software does not make a computer a new machine">Software does not make a computer a new machine</a> · <a href="/wiki/Freedom_of_expression" title="Freedom of expression">Harming freedom of expression</a> · <a href="/wiki/Blocking_useful_freedoms" title="Blocking useful freedoms">Blocking useful freedoms</a> </td></tr> <tr> <th style="color: white; background-color: #607b7d; border: 1px solid #c3c3c3;">High costs </th> <td colspan="2"><a href="/wiki/Costly_legal_costs" title="Costly legal costs">Costly legal costs</a> · <a href="/wiki/Cost_of_the_patent_system_to_governments" title="Cost of the patent system to governments">Cost of the patent system to governments</a> · <a href="/wiki/Cost_barrier_to_market_entry" title="Cost barrier to market entry">Cost barrier to market entry</a> · <a href="/wiki/Cost_of_defending_yourself_against_patent_litigation" title="Cost of defending yourself against patent litigation">Cost of defending yourself against patent litigation</a> </td></tr> <tr> <th rowspan="3" style="color: white; background-color: #607b7d; border: 1px solid #c3c3c3;">Impact on society </th> <th style="border: 1px solid #c3c3c3;">Restricting freedom </th> <td><a href="/wiki/Harm_without_litigation_or_direct_threats" title="Harm without litigation or direct threats">Harm without litigation or direct threats</a> · <a href="/wiki/Free_software_projects_harmed_by_software_patents" title="Free software projects harmed by software patents">Free software projects harmed by software patents</a> · <a href="/wiki/More_than_patent_trolls" title="More than patent trolls">More than patent trolls</a> · <a href="/wiki/More_than_innovation" title="More than innovation">More than innovation</a> · <a href="/wiki/Slow_process_creates_uncertainty" title="Slow process creates uncertainty">Slow process creates uncertainty</a> </td></tr> <tr> <th style="border: 1px solid #c3c3c3;">Preventing progress </th> <td><a href="/wiki/Software_relies_on_incremental_development" title="Software relies on incremental development">Software relies on incremental development</a> · <a href="/wiki/Software_progress_happens_without_patents" title="Software progress happens without patents">Software progress happens without patents</a> · <a href="/wiki/Reducing_innovation_and_research" class="mw-redirect" title="Reducing innovation and research">Reducing innovation and research</a> · <a href="/wiki/Low_risk" title="Low risk">Software development is low risk</a> · <a href="/wiki/Jobs_and_skills" title="Jobs and skills">Reducing job security</a> · <a href="/wiki/Harms_to_education" title="Harms to education">Harming education</a> · <a href="/wiki/Harm_to_standards_and_compatibility" title="Harm to standards and compatibility">Harming standards and compatibility</a> </td></tr> <tr> <th style="border: 1px solid #c3c3c3;">Disrupting the economy </th> <td><a href="/wiki/Examples_of_use_for_sabotage" title="Examples of use for sabotage">Used for sabotage</a> · <a href="/wiki/Controlling_entire_markets" title="Controlling entire markets">Controlling entire markets</a> · <a href="/wiki/Breaks_common_software_distribution_models" title="Breaks common software distribution models">Breaking common software distribution models</a> · <a href="/wiki/Blocks_competing_software,_reducing_choice" class="mw-redirect" title="Blocks competing software, reducing choice">Blocking competing software</a> · <a href="/wiki/Software_patents_harm_SMEs" title="Software patents harm SMEs">Harming smaller businesses</a> · <a href="/wiki/All_businesses_have_software_patent_risk" title="All businesses have software patent risk">Harming all types of businesses</a> · <a href="/wiki/A_bubble_waiting_to_burst" title="A bubble waiting to burst">A bubble waiting to burst</a> </td></tr> <tr> <th rowspan="3" style="color: white; background-color: #607b7d; border: 1px solid #c3c3c3;">Problems of the legal system </th> <th style="border: 1px solid #c3c3c3;">Problems in law </th> <td><a href="/wiki/Clogging_up_the_legal_system" title="Clogging up the legal system">Clogging up the legal system</a> · <a href="/wiki/The_disclosure_is_useless" class="mw-redirect" title="The disclosure is useless">Disclosure is useless</a> · <a href="/wiki/Software_patents_are_unreadable" class="mw-redirect" title="Software patents are unreadable">Software patents are unreadable</a> · <a href="/wiki/Publishing_information_is_made_dangerous" title="Publishing information is made dangerous">Publishing information is made dangerous</a> · <a href="/wiki/20_years_is_too_long" title="20 years is too long">Twenty year protection is too long</a> </td></tr> <tr> <th style="border: 1px solid #c3c3c3;">Problems in litigation </th> <td><a href="/wiki/Patent_trolls" class="mw-redirect" title="Patent trolls">Patent trolls</a> · <a href="/wiki/Patent_ambush" title="Patent ambush">Patent ambush</a> · <a href="/wiki/Invalid_patents_remain_unchallenged" title="Invalid patents remain unchallenged">Invalid patents remain unchallenged</a> · <a href="/wiki/Infringement_is_unavoidable" class="mw-redirect" title="Infringement is unavoidable">Infringement is unavoidable</a> · <a href="/wiki/Inequality_between_small_and_large_patent_holders" title="Inequality between small and large patent holders">Inequality between small and large patent holders</a> </td></tr></tbody></table>   </div>  </div><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<a dir="ltr" href="https://wiki.endsoftwarepatents.org/w/index.php?title=Software_is_math&oldid=38566">https://wiki.endsoftwarepatents.org/w/index.php?title=Software_is_math&oldid=38566</a>"</div> <div class="visualClear"></div></div></div></div><div id="content-bottom-stuff"><div id="catlinks" class="catlinks" data-mw="interface"><div id="mw-normal-catlinks" class="mw-normal-catlinks"><a href="/wiki/Special:Categories" title="Special:Categories">Categories</a>: <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Pages_with_requests_for_help" title="Category:Pages with requests for help">Pages with requests for help</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Unprocessed_links" title="Category:Unprocessed links">Unprocessed links</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Pages_linking_to_documents_in_German" title="Category:Pages linking to documents in German">Pages linking to documents in German</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Arguments" title="Category:Arguments">Arguments</a></li></ul></div></div></div><div class="visualClear"></div></div></div><div id="mw-footer-container" class="ts-container"><div id="mw-footer" class="ts-inner"><div id="footer-bottom" role="contentinfo" lang="en" dir="ltr"><div id="f-etcico" class="footer-icons"><a href="https://www.fsf.org/"><img src="https://static.fsf.org/nosvn/logos/FSF_logo_white.svg" alt="Logo for the Free Software Foundation" height="40" width="88"/></a></div><div id="f-copyrightico" class="footer-icons"><a href="https://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html"><img src="/w/resources/assets/licenses/gnu-fdl.png" alt="GNU Free Documentation License 1.3" width="88" height="31"/></a></div><div id="f-poweredbyico" class="footer-icons"><a href="//www.mediawiki.org/"><img src="/w/resources/assets/poweredby_mediawiki_88x31.png" alt="Powered by MediaWiki" srcset="/w/resources/assets/poweredby_mediawiki_132x47.png 1.5x, /w/resources/assets/poweredby_mediawiki_176x62.png 2x" width="88" height="31"/></a></div><ul id="f-list" class="footer-places"><li id="lastmod"> This page was last edited on 28 December 2023, at 06:27.</li><li id="copyright">Content is available under <a class="external" rel="nofollow" href="https://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html">GNU Free Documentation License 1.3</a> unless otherwise noted.</li><li id="about"><a href="/wiki/ESP_Wiki:About" title="ESP Wiki:About">About ESP Wiki</a></li><li id="disclaimer"><a href="/wiki/ESP_Wiki:General_disclaimer" title="ESP Wiki:General disclaimer">Disclaimer</a></li><li id="priv"><a href="https://www.fsf.org/about/free-software-foundation-privacy-policy">Privacy Policy</a></li><li id="LibreJS"><a href="https://weblabels.fsf.org/en.swpat.org/CURRENT/" rel="jslicense">JavaScript licenses</a></li></ul><div class="visualClear"></div></div></div></div></div><script>(window.RLQ=window.RLQ||[]).push(function(){mw.config.set({"wgPageParseReport":{"limitreport":{"cputime":"0.079","walltime":"0.252","ppvisitednodes":{"value":123,"limit":1000000},"ppgeneratednodes":{"value":305,"limit":1000000},"postexpandincludesize":{"value":5167,"limit":2097152},"templateargumentsize":{"value":417,"limit":2097152},"expansiondepth":{"value":3,"limit":40},"expensivefunctioncount":{"value":0,"limit":100},"unstrip-depth":{"value":0,"limit":20},"unstrip-size":{"value":1364,"limit":5000000},"timingprofile":["100.00% 44.596 1 -total"," 40.49% 18.058 1 Template:Process"," 34.38% 15.331 1 Template:Warnbox"," 12.69% 5.659 1 Template:Reflist"," 10.10% 4.506 1 Template:Help"," 7.44% 3.316 1 Template:Law_proposals"," 5.95% 2.653 1 Template:NavWhyAbolish"," 4.46% 1.990 1 Template:Lang_de"]},"cachereport":{"timestamp":"20250221160809","ttl":86400,"transientcontent":false}}});});</script> <script type="text/javascript"> // @license magnet:?xt=urn:btih:1f739d935676111cfff4b4693e3816e664797050&dn=gpl-3.0.txt GPL-v3-or-Later var _paq = _paq || []; _paq.push(["trackPageView"]); _paq.push(["enableLinkTracking"]); (function() { var u = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https" : "http") + "://"+"piwik.fsf.org//"; _paq.push(["setTrackerUrl", u+"piwik.php"]); _paq.push(["setSiteId", "19"]); var d=document, g=d.createElement("script"), s=d.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; g.type="text/javascript"; g.defer=true; g.async=true; g.src=u+"piwik.js"; s.parentNode.insertBefore(g,s); })(); // @license-end </script> <script>(window.RLQ=window.RLQ||[]).push(function(){mw.config.set({"wgBackendResponseTime":403});});</script></body></html>