Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Intellectual Property Law Blogs -> Groklaw

Intellectual Property Law

: Groklaw

Donald Knuth: Mathematical Ideas, or Algorithms, Should Not Be Patented

By Pamela Jones et al.

Donald Knuth, distinguished computer scientist, recipient of the Turing Award, creator of the TeX computer typesetting system, and author of The Art of Computer Programming, which some call the Bible of computer programming, has submitted a letter [PDF] to the European Patent Office for submission to the EPO's Enlarged Board of Appeal considering the question of software patents and whether they should be allowed in Europe. Here's his view:

Basically I remain convinced that the patent policy most fair and most suitable for the world will regard mathematical ideas (such as algorithms) to be not subject to proprietary patent rights.

He attaches a letter he wrote in 1994 to the US Patent and Trademark Office, explaining why software patents were -- and would be -- so damaging. How true his words proved to be. Here's a snippet:

I am told that the courts are trying to make a distinction between mathematical algorithms and nonmathematical algorithms. To a computer scientist, this makes no sense, because every algorithm is as mathematical as anything could be.

Ah! But will the EPO listen?

Full post as published by Groklaw on June 04, 2009 (boomark / email).