Today, Red Hat took a public stand challenging the standards for patenting software. In the Biliski case that is now before the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, this patent issue is ripe for consideration.

"End Software Patents (ESP) has filed an amicus curiae brief in the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit's (CAFC) rehearing of the In re Bilski case. The rehearing could lead to the elimination of patents on software.

The fight against software patents got a big boost yesterday when one Linux company filed an amicus brief with the US Supreme Court urging it to uphold last year's Bilski vs. Doll decision in the Federal appeals court.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, Office of the Clerk, has sent a letter reminding the individual wishing to appeal the order denying him the right to intervene in the SCO v.

"Our primary goal in this campaign is to reverse the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) decision of 'In re Alappat'. Here, I will explain the history of what that ruling meant, and why that same history has shown us that it should be the focus of our campaign..."

"With the US Patent Office and courts cracking down on software patents, Ars takes a close look at the Supreme Court's software patent decisions. Yes, the highest court in the land really did say that algorithms can't be patented. And in spite of the fact that their rulings have been functionally ignored for almost two decades, the tide may be about to turn..."

"Brussels, 12 May 2009 -- The European Commission is pushing for software patents via a centralised trusted patent court that would be created with the United Patent Litigation System (UPLS), an international treaty that would remove national courts. This court system would be shielded against any review by the European Court of Justice (ECJ).

The U.S. is known for its patent friendliness. But a Supreme Court decision in 2008 overturned a patent application by Bernard L. Bilski and Rand A. Warsaw for a risk mitigation process. Now Red Hat is using the so-called Bilski case in support of software non-patentability.

Dennis Crouch has an excellent summary of the Federal Circuit's en banc order today, revisiting whether business method claims are patentable and whether State Street Bank should be overruled. Dennis lists the en banc questions and claim 1 of the Bilski patent here.