There's a lot of misinformation on the site about patents. Folks - yes, novely is still required for patents under 35 USC Sec. 102, and nonobviousness is also required under 35 USC Sec. 103. Nonobviousness means taking multiply novely destroying references and combining them together in an obvious way. That's true for all utility patents, be they for software, hardware, life sciences, biotech etc.