- The conclusion of the Appeal Division as expressed in its decision
of 16 December 1970 (BIE 1971, 54) that a computer which differs from
another computer merely by virtue of its information content (program)
is not to be regarded as a new product, cannot be maintained without
some amendment considering recent technical and legal developments.
- A distinction must be drawn between computer programs as such, i.e.
those recorded on data carriers and not directly addressable by a
computer, on the one hand, and programs loaded into the working memory
of the computer which are characterised by direct addressability, on the other.
- A computer with a directly addressable or working memory into which
a program is loaded is to be regarded as a technically different device
which is in principle patentable on the basis of program characteristics.
