The Study Of Patenting Business Method Software

The rapid development of E-Commerce leads to the issues of patenting business method software, this thesis does not pay too much attention on controversy of the patentability of business method software, but define the business method software as a technical solution based on necessity of patenting business method software. The technical solution includes business method character and other technical characters, both of them are technical characters, the business method character is innovative and other technical characters are practicability, which are supplementary conditions to carry out the business method. The broad definition of technical solution is neither American patent review standard that is practical utility nor the European standard that is useful art. The broad definition conciliate the differences between business method software patent protection system and existing patent system. The novelty of business method that is used to patent review is the base of the novelty of the business method software, which is the true value of the business method patent.The chapter one of this thesis gives the definition of the business method software, which is defined a technical solution, the definition is a right way to patenting business method software. The chapter two is mainly about the necessity analysis of business method software. The chapter two, concretely, includes three aspects, that are the limitations of the copyright protection to business method software, the limitations of trade secret protection to business method software and the software business method patent protection status and trends, and then patenting the business method software is necessary. The chapter three focuses on analyzing the patenting conditions and in the existing conditions we should confine the scope to authorize, which is the emphasis of this thesis. The patenting conditions are industrial applicability, novelty and inventiveness; I study the conditions in-depth, and then get the conditions to patenting the business method software. And then because of benefit balance principle, we should diminish the scope of patenting business method software. The last chapter analyzes the questions and the answers of patenting business method software,which is the core of this thesis, on the condition of patenting business method software, puts emphasis on analyzing the effects to the existing patent system and considering the threat to public benefit, besides gives some methods to decrease the effects.