Intellectual property protection on software and computers can be obtained via patents, copyrights, or trade secrecy. Although in the past, the PTO routinely refused to grant software patents until the 1981 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Diamond v. Diehr. In addition, beginning in 1994, the Federal Appeals court (CAFC) decided several cases tending to broaden the scope of software inventions.

Under the present PTO guidelines, a patent can be obtained on a computer, computer software, or a combination thereof.