patented algorithms

Software consists of lists of instructions that a computer reads and executes. The tasks done by a computer are largely repetitive; the same chunks of instructions are executed many times. Each chunk performs one specific task and goes by the label algorithm, a method for accomplishing a specific task. In the United States, it is possible to obtain a patent for a software algorithm. One example of a patented software algorithm is the LZW software …

…law remains incredibly flawed and does not belong in the software world. Ideas and knowledge, unpatentable in nature, benefit society when shared, not when hoarded. The example of Unisys and LZW, by no means the only patented algorithm, gives a concrete example of the failure of the software patent to fulfill the original goals of the patent law itself. One must not think too hard about this subject, however, for fear of violating a patent.