ALGORITHM

algorithm.Patents. A mathematical or logical process consisting of a series of steps, designed

to solve a specific type of problem. • Algorithms were long considered abstract ideas and therefore

unpatentable subject matter. But in 1998, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit found

valid a patent on financial software as “a practical application of a mathematical algorithm [that]

produces  a  useful,  concrete  and  tangible  result.”  State  St.  Bank  &  Trust  Co.  v.  Signature  Fin.

Group, 149 F.3d 1368, 1373 (Fed. Cir. 1998). That precedent makes it easier to patent computer

software,  which  consists  almost  entirely  of  algorithms.  [Cases:  Patents    6.  C.J.S.  Patents  §§

26–27.] [Blacks Law 8th]