Editing Software patent (section)

===China===
In China, the starting time of software patent is relatively late. Before 2006, software patents were basically not granted, and software and hardware had to be combined when applying for a patent. With the development of network technology and software technology, China's patent examination system has been constantly updated. Recently, the design idea of the software itself has been allowed to apply for patent separately, instead of requiring to be combined with hardware. However, software patent writing requirements are relatively high.

Software patents can be written as either a product or a method, depending on the standards of review. However, no matter what form it is written in, it is difficult to highlight the creativity of the scheme, which requires specific case analysis.

Software that can be patented mainly includes (but is not limited to):

(1) Industrial control software, such as controlling the movement of mechanical equipment;

(2) Software to improve the internal performance of the computer, such as a software can improve the virtual memory of the computer;

(3) External technical data processing software, such as digital camera image processing software.

It is fair to say that a considerable proportion of software belongs to category (3).

The patent protection measures can be seen in the patent law and the regulations on the protection of computer software.