Why Technologists Want Fewer Patents

[Commentary] The last time the Supreme Court heard a case on what kinds of innovations deserved patents was in 1981 -- the year IBM launched the first personal computer using a disk operating system from a young Microsoft. The Internet as we know it was still years in the future. This month, the Supreme Court agreed to reconsider what can be patented. At stake are tens of thousands of existing patents and a rethinking of why we have patent protections in the first place. One measure of how badly the patent system needs reform: IBM, for years the company that's been assigned the greatest number of patents now says too many patents are being granted. IBM is also the leader in "business method" patents that the court could now invalidate. Several justices have doubted that software can be protected by patents. Industries from high-tech to biotech and financial services are watching the case of Bilski v. Doll with intense interest.