Another day, another US patent

Network Associates patent win might just be one small step for an anti-virus software vendor, but it is one giant leap for ASPs.

The patent, awarded by the US patent office, effectively positions Network Associates as the only anti-virus company permitted to deliver desktop security applications via ASP.

That's certainly not a bad move for the company now computer viruses are such big business. Code Red has featured in prime time news bulletins last week, Code Red Mark Two is this week's scare, SirCam had its day, and the Love bug and Melissa worms continue to crop up every so often.

As long as shrewd, unethical hackers propagate viruses, virus solutions are a lucrative business.

No doubt Network Associates realised this when it applied for an ASP patent in 1998. Now it's been granted, some quarters are debating over who exactly the shrewd, unethical party is?

Law experts are predicting complicated legal wrangles that will no doubt focus on the ethics of monopolising a business model as common place as the ASP.

But the hard truth is that the cut-throat world of business boils down to what is legally permissible, not what is ethical. That's a different sector altogether, that's charity.

UK law prefers to reserve patents for intellectual property concepts. Proving that software or business processes deserve to be patented is a long and complex procedure.

Under US law it is legal and fair for a company to apply to patent a commonplace business process if it can prove a novel or inventive angle. This is how Network Associates won its patent.

The disputes arise over how the law, and those parties challenging it, interpret novel and inventive.

As Priceline and Amazon have shown in earlier patent disputes, playing within the law is not always enough to prevent legal battles.

Network Associates is certainly aware of this, and in the words of a company spokesman, will rise to any challenge that comes its way.

The debate is not simple, and it does beg one other complex and overlooked question.

What happens if the next incarnation of Code Red - or another virulent pest - manages to wreak havoc and bring internet-based companies to their knees?

Who will be around to deliver the ASP solution then?