The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers is examining proposals for a fast-track patent system that would give limited control of an invention for four years.

The idea for a "limited patent" has been put forward in the organisation's journal Spectrum and proposes a system that would protect software used in commercial applications without the need to wait for years to get the patent approved. 

"The primary criterion for granting the limited patent should be novelty," said Lee A. Hollaar, a professor in the School of Computing at the University of Utah, and former chairman of the IEEE-USA Intellectual Property Committee.

"People should not receive protection for things that are already available to the public. The novelty-only criterion also avoids the problems associated with trying to prove or disprove that something is 'obvious' in light of the prior art."

Patents would also be cheaper since far less investigation would be necessary to determine their provenance.