◆New patenting norms may put India's software innovation into sleep mode
【New Delhi】Patenting of software applications could virtually become impossible in the country if the draft guidelines on computer-related innovation come into force.
The rules, the first ever for software applications in the country, were recently issued by the patent office and mandate each new software to be "machine-specific" and packaged with "new hardware" to qualify for a licence.
Technology experts argue the guidelines defeat the very objective of most software applications - to be hardware agnostic and interoperable. Also, implementing such a premise for software patenting may force Indian companies to file for patents abroad and adversely affect multinational technology companies' India plans.
【News source】