Software Based On Published Papers

[njnear]

What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? Louisiana

I'm interested in developing software that models electromagnetic phenomenon. Much of the techniques and algorithms involved have been found in published papers.

I want to make certain that I'm not violating any intellectual property laws by writing such software. I'm not certain if this is correct or not, but I've always been under the impression that if something was published, the information could be used publicly. (By published, I mean published academically or published via professional organizations such as the IEEE.)

Incidentally, there are several companies that sell similar software. I'm convince d that I can sell it at a greatly reduced cost.

Can anyone give me any guidance?

 

[divgradcurl]

What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? Louisiana

I'm interested in developing software that models electromagnetic phenomenon. Much of the techniques and algorithms involved have been found in published papers.

I want to make certain that I'm not violating any intellectual property laws by writing such software. I'm not certain if this is correct or not, but I've always been under the impression that if something was published, the information could be used publicly. (By published, I mean published academically or published via professional organizations such as the IEEE.)

Incidentally, there are several companies that sell similar software. I'm convince d that I can sell it at a greatly reduced cost.

Can anyone give me any guidance?

Generally, mathematical formulas and algorithms are not patentable, so yes, they are free to use by anyone. However, if there are specific techniques used to solve the equations computationally, its potentially possible (but in reality, quite unlikely) for a specific computation technique to be cover by a patent. Purely mathematical techniques may not be patented, but a "method" for using such a technique is potentially patentable. You can check the uspto website at www.uspto.gov to see if any of the techniques you are interested in using are covered by patents. Probably not, but its probably a good idea to check for sure.

A particular second-order differential equation (like Newton's second law, for example) is not patentable subject matter; a mathematical algorithm for numerically calculating that differential equation (such a Runge-Kutta algorithm, for exampple) is also not patentable subject matter. But "a method and apparatus for optimizing polar satellite orbits" that uses both the diff eq and the R-K algorithm is potentially patentable. This simple example wouldn't be, but there may be situations where a patent could exist, so you should check.

Otherwise, you are good to go.

 

[njnear]

Thanks for your help!