Research On Reasonable Limitation Of Business Method Patent

With the development of information technology and electronic-commerce, developed countries and regions such as U.S.A, EU, Japan are attempting the patent protection of business method. Although The international society and domestic have different viewpoint of it,the trend of patent protection of business method can not be changed. U.S.A's patent system of the business method has already out-of-balance, which offered the lessons for other countries. So now the urgent problem for us is to seek the point of tangency and point of balance for intellectual property law system which provide protection with business method and the perfecting of standard of substantial requirement of business method patent and the method of protection of it.A"business method,"which in the past had been considered non-statutory, has recently been found to be statutory subject matter in State Street Bank. Business method patent floods that appear since then arise a lot of question and negative effect. Japan follows U.S.A affirms the patentability of the business method. While affirms the patentability of the business method, Europe insists the base line of technology character. The controversy surrounding patented protection of business method in USA, Japan and Europe account for the rationality of limitation of business method patent.The deeper reason for limitation of patent protection of business method is that the business method has some character difference from traditional patent subject matter. Firstly, the business method broke the restriction of the region, asking for help a network to spread to the world-wide locations, having a region to downplay; secondly, the business method patent'renewal speed is very quick, has brief value. So the patent protection of business method cost more social cost and rising"generally inconvenient"more easily. For reducing the cost and balancing the benefit of business method patent protection, there must be limitation of business method patent.We have to carry on the adjustment of the system to the patent protection of the business method. Reforms to the patent system and more strict essential examination standard are needed. Especially the creativity should lie in technical respect,nor the method itself. In the cases of patent infringement judges should balance the patent infringement and patent plea. The principle of prior art plea is an important principle to restrict the patent right reasonably.The ultimate purpose of studying the business method is to offer some suggestion for China on how to establish patent protection system for the computer software-related business method. Reviewing the national and international circumstances that we are currently confronting with, we need to legislate to acknowledge the patentability of business method at first. At the same time, the legislation needs to confine the patent rights so as to prevent abuse of the patentee's rights.