Supreme court decision in software patent case doesn´t provide clear guidance on what can be patented: Mobile apps to help people in unsafe situations and protect private information win top prizes in App-E-Feat contest

According to the IEEE-USA, the US Supreme Court could have provided much clearer guidance on what kind of software can be patented in a unanimous decision handed down June 19, 2014. In Alice Corporation Pty. Ltd. v. CLS Bank International (No. 13¿¿298), the high court ruled in favor of CLS Bank that an Alice Corp. business method for reducing the risk that parties in a transaction will not pay what they owe is not patentable. Justice Clarence Thomas, writing for the court, said, ¿¿¿¿that merely requiring generic computer imple mentation fails to transform that abstract idea into a patent-eligible invention.¿¿