Abstract
Information technology is one of the significant industries of Taiwan. Abraham Lincoln stated that ”the patent system added the fuel of interest to the fire of genius.” Therefore, a good patent system can promote the development of industries, including the IT industry. It seems that we are living in one age with so many disputes about software patent, in which there are patent thickets and patent trolls everywhere. Many people argue that software patent is an absurdity, and many groups try to end software patent. This article focuses on “software patent subject matter eligibility” to discuss which kinds of software related claim should be classified into patentable subject matter. This article also gathers cases of petition and administrative litigation related to software patent prosecution in our country, and compares them with those of Europe and America to analyze the Software Patent Examination Guidelines in 2008 of Taiwan.