An Unsuccessful Software Patent [Patent Reviews]

In the last issue of IEEE Power Electonics Magazine, we talked about the trouble that patentees are encountering with software patents being held invalid because the patent is directed to ineligible subject matter. This time we have an example of one that has failed because it was only directed to an abstract idea. This case was recently decided by the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and involved a patent owned by Electric Power Group, LLC, that was asserted against Alstom et al.