how can patent infringment be avoided for simple SaaS feature

Question

I was thinking to develop a simple app for learning purpose. Upon doing research I found that a similar idea and process has already been patented. The idea is of a SaaS application that performs only one task/process and that task is patented. This idea sounded "un-patentable" to me but the fact is that several patents by same inventor exist for the same simple idea.

With regards to this patent and the patent process I don't understand following:

• will it be considered legal if I develop similar app but slightly different process that results in achieving the same goal? (however in this case there are not many ways to show a map with pins containing information in them so most likely it will look similar with different UI design)
• can my slightly modified process be patented by someone else?
• if modifications are allowed then how significant should they be?
• can I still develop the app for learning and share that code on github?
• how do other SaaS vendors get around patents as I see a lot of companies offering similar products? for example Amazon and Microsoft both provide cloud functions/lambdas so how do they avoid infringing patents?

Answer 1

What is patented is defined by the claims. To infringe on a claim, you must implement each and every element of the claim. If a claim has steps A, B, C and D, and you only implement A, B and C then you don't infringe. I looked at the cited patent and the first claim is very long and involved. In general, long claims are easier to circumvent since there are more steps available to avoid. You need to repeat this evaluation for each claim. You need to avoid infringement of each claim separately.

I'll try to answer each of your questions.

will it be considered legal if I develop similar app but slightly different process that results in achieving the same goal? (however in this case there are not many ways to show a map with pins containing information in them so most likely it will look similar with different UI design)

As I said, it is all about the claims. If you can avoid implementing even one step in the claim you avoid infringement.

can my slightly modified process be patented by someone else?

Once you publish your process it becomes prior art and should not be patentable by others. In the US you have a grace period to potentially applying for your own patent.

if modifications are allowed then how significant should they be?

If a claim has steps A, B and C and you implement A, B, C and D you infringe the patent. Adding a step doesn't avoid infringement. Changing a step so your implementation is A, B and D does avoid infringement.

can I still develop the app for learning and share that code on github?

You can infringe even if you don't sell the code or service. If you aren't making money they may just ask you to take down the code, but it is still infringement.

how do other SaaS vendors get around patents as I see a lot of companies offering similar products? For example Amazon and Microsoft >both provide cloud functions/lambdas so how do they avoid infringing >patents?

They either write code designed around what is patented or else they license the technology.

Answer 2

Often people read an abstract or even just a title and jump to a conclusion that a patent’s claims are broader than they are. It is the actual wording of the independent claims that specify what it takes to infringe.

In the patent you link to claim 1 is unusually long at over 450 words. In order to infringe it a product or service needs to perform all the steps.

First, goals or outcomes are not patented. There can be many ways to achieve a goal. How much do you need to change from the patented invention? Study the claims, break them down to distinct elements and see if you can do the job without one or more elements.

One thing to be aware of is the doctrine of equivalents that says an element might be not the exact item of the claim but performs the same function the same way and might still be judged to infringe.

Once you make your version public, in theory no one should be able to get a patent since their “invention” will not be new. If your process is hidden within your code and only the result is externally visible you have not made your invention public. Even if you make it public there is a very good chance an examiner searching for patentability of another’s application will not find your disclosure.

Unlike some other IP, patent infringement does not require a profit motive on your part.

Last, you might carefully avoid infringing this particular patent but inadvertently infringe three other patents. Big companies can take the strategy of doing freedom to operate searches on important products, they can try to avoid patents they are accidentally aware of or they can go forward and worry about it if they get sued.

To go into more depth on the specific patent in question, the last thing the applicant added to get past the last grounds of rejection was "wherein the average historical service time for a particular service performed by the particular employee is updated each time the particular employee provides the particular service;" I suggest - do not do that step. Create groupings of employees who do the same service and update the historical service time for the group, for example.