Software patents have been under fire so much that the courts now appear sympathetic when invalidating the claims as lacking patentable subject matter. A recent case out of the Southern District of New York emphasized the judge's appreciation of the invention and how "clever" the invention truly was. Alas, the court still invalidated the claims as being patent ineligible.
The case of Stanacard, LLC v. Rubard, LLC, Case No. 1:12-cv-05176 (S.D.N.Y. November 18, 2015) relates to a call forwarding system that simplifies and reduces the cost of making long distance and international calls. The system provides a ten digit number to an end user, which the end user can call from a designated phone to reach a previously designated recipient. For example, the telephone service provider can provide a number 555-123-4567 to an end user, and the end user can associate that number with the mother of the end user. When the end user wishes to call his mother, he can simply dial the 555-123-4567 number on the provided telephone, and the phone will contact the mother. While this system is less useful for domestic calling, it can be helpful for long distance calling where the recipient's phone number may include a country code, city code, or other required additional digits.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
