House bans tax strategy patents.

The House of Representatives voted to overhaul patent rules and place a ban on tax-planning method patents.

H.R. 1908, the Patent Reform Act of 2007, contained a provision that would protect accounting firms from lawsuits over tax-planning methods.

The bill defines "tax-planning method" as a plan, strategy, technique or scheme designed to reduce, minimize or defer a taxpayer's tax liability. However, the bill did not include the use of tax preparation software or other tools used "to perform or model mathematical calculations or prepare tax or information returns."