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O’Reilly V. Morse
''O'Reilly v. Morse'', 56 U.S. (15 How.) 62 (1853), also known as ''The Telegraph Patent Case'', is an 1854 decision of the United States Supreme Court that has been highly influential in the development of the law of patent-eligibility in regard to claim (patent), claimed software patent, inventions in the field of computer-software related art. It holds, essentially, that an abstract idea, apart from its implementation, is not patent-eligible. Background The problem that would-be telegraphers faced in the early 19th century is explained in the Court's opinion:"The great difficulty in their way was the fact that the direct current, galvanic current, however strong in the beginning, became gradually weaker as it advanced on the wire; and was not strong enough to produce a mechanical effect, after a certain distance had been traversed.” (See figure at right illustrating problem Court describes.) To send a signal from Baltimore to Washington would require thousands of volts and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United States Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on questions of U.S. constitutional or federal law. It also has original jurisdiction over a narrow range of cases, specifically "all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, and those in which a State shall be Party." In 1803, the Court asserted itself the power of judicial review, the ability to invalidate a statute for violating a provision of the Constitution via the landmark case '' Marbury v. Madison''. It is also able to strike down presidential directives for violating either the Constitution or statutory law. Under Article Three of the United States Constitution, the composition and procedures of the Supreme Court were originally established by the 1st Congress through the Judiciary Act of 1789. As it has si ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
