Software Patent Institute

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Software Patent Institute (established 1992 in Ann Arbor)Bernard Galler, [http://www.uspto.gov/go/com/hearings/software/arlington/va_galler.html University of Michigan Software Patent Institute] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090219052406/http://www.uspto.gov/go/com/hearings/software/arlington/va_galler.html |date=2009-02-19 }} is an American non-profit corporation established to assist in the correct assignment of software patent.[http://www.spi.org/ www.spi.org] It originally had the name University of Michigan Software Patent Institute, as it was established by the Industrial Technology Institute, represented by professor Bernard Galler.

It maintains a Database of software technologies, since 1995 open to the public, covering the folklore of software industry and provides courses, the SPI reporter bulletin, and other educational materials. The institute was disputed on its arrival (in particular by League for Programming Freedom),Simson Garfinkel, Richard M. Stallman and Mitchell Kapor, [http://lpf.ai.mit.edu/Links/prep.ai.mit.edu/issues.article Why patents are bad for software] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071212123558/http://lpf.ai.mit.edu/Links/prep.ai.mit.edu/issues.article |date=2007-12-12 }}, in Issues in science and technology, fall 1991 but has nevertheless received financial support from Usenix as well as commercial software companies as Oracle Corporation, IBM, Apple Inc. and Microsoft. Its executive director is Roland J. Cole, based in Indianapolis.