The combination of innovative software and hardware, the very basics of embedded and mobile development, can establish a patentable invention. It is commonly understood that software patents are not granted in Europe, and that inventions in the form of software programs are not patentable. Both assumptions are not completely true, and can be especially misleading for the development of mobile and embedded appliances. The presentation will inform about the special case of innovations made up of a combination of software and hardware inventions, and the can of worms this opens for embedded and mobile developers. It will introduce defensive strategies available to Open Source embedded and mobile developers, especially the creation of defensive publications and the Open Source patent pool built by the Open Invention Network.
Speakers: Mirko Boehm