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Rackham H. Karlsson

is an Associate at Intellectual Property law firm Lando & Anastasi. He is an experienced patent practitioner with significant expertise in software-related technologies, including programming languages, artificial intelligence and machine learning, FinTech, search engines, security, cloud computing, data centers, medical devices, networking, workflow automation, user interfaces, social media, and various SaaS platforms. His strong technical background and prior legal and industry experience enable him to provide practical counsel to L&A’s diverse client base.

Recent Articles by Rackham H. Karlsson

Disclosure Requirements in Software Patents: Avoiding Indefiniteness

How much detail is needed in a patent application for a software-based invention? Software patents present some unique challenges that many other kinds of patent applications do not need to contend with, one of them being the level of disclosure and care in drafting needed to avoid indefiniteness issues. While source code is not required in most cases, a growing body of case law indicates that insufficient detail about the algorithms underpinning the invention could render the patent claims indefinite, meaning that the scope of the claimed invention is too ambiguous. If the patent examiner deems the disclosure to be inadequate during examination, indefiniteness could prevent a patent from issuing. In the case of an already-issued patent, indefiniteness could render the claims unenforceable.