Software Patents have been a contentious issue in India for decades. Although Section 3(k) of the Patents Act excludes "computer programmes per se" from patentability, a combination of administrative guidelines and judicial decisions has gradually relaxed the criteria for software patent eligibility. However, there is no clear answer on one burning question: where does AI fit into this equation?
The goal of this talk is to understand the real-world impact of software patents on software development and to identify concrete ways in which the FOSS community can help shape the future of software innovation in India.
This session will begin by tracing evolution of the law, examining how India's approach to software patents has developed over time, what underlying purpose these regulations served, and how current practices compare with the original legislative intent behind Section 3(k).
Then, the talk will draw from SFLC.in's 2023 empirical analysis of software patents in India. Among our findings was that nearly 80% of software patents granted in India in 2022 were granted to foreign entities. We will discuss the ramifications of these findings on domestic, collaborative, innovation (the kind we find in FOSS communities) and the broader software ecosystem in the country.
The talk will seek to address the role of artificial intelligence in the software patents puzzle. Patent applications increasingly seek protection for machine learning systems, AI-assisted processes, and data-driven techniques, and it is imperative that we understand - Do AI patents genuinely aim to protect novel technological advances, or are they becoming yet another route for expanding software patents beyond lawful limits? By examining some illustrative examples of AI-related patents that have successfully passed the grant process despite raising serious questions about patentability, the discussion aims to clarify the crossroads we find ourselves at now.
Finally, the session will explore the way forward. What direction should software patent regulation take in the age of AI? And how can the FOSS community contribute in this campaign to foster and preserve an open and innovation-friendly software ecosystem in the country?
