Dynamische Dokumentengenerierung, Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof), 22 April 2010

The German Federal Court of Justice decided that a method concerning the dynamic document generation of structured documents in a client-server-environment, which is implemented by software, was not excluded from patent protection as a program for data processing systems. A method is always of technical nature if it concerns the direct interaction of elements of a data processing system and therefore the functionality of the system. In order to overcome the exclusion of patentability for computer programs it is necessary to solve a technical problem by using technical means. According to the Court it is sufficient when the solution to such a problem is to adjust a data processing program to the technical givens of a data processing system.

A full summary of this case has been published on Kluwer IP Law.