Business Method Patentability And Its Review

With the development of information technology, the penetration of network and the innovation of E-commerce environment, the E-commerce Business Methods in the form of electronic technology and computer software are created and promoted. As the related market demands and industry needs are increasing, whether this kind of business methods should be protected by Patent Law is gradually becoming disputed. To exclude it from patent protection system as an abstract idea, or to impose it patent rights from the national interest needs, has become the focus of international controversy. After years of research in the field of legislation and practice, the United States, Japan and Europe have reached the same conclusion, that is some Business Methods could be protected by Patent Law as a patentable subject, while they are "useful, tangible and concrete" or technical. However, as the proceeding business methods patent of the Bilski Case was declared invalid in the USA on June28th,2010, and the standards of "useful, tangible and concrete" were criticized by the U.S. Supreme Court, the areas of research and practice on the patentability of business methods and review was influenced a lot. The settled adjudication implied the end of rapid expansion of Business Methods Patents in America these years. Affected by this, other countries also began to view whether their national patent system on business methods is rational enough. In this context, the thesis systematically analyzes the legality of business methods when they are considered as patentable subjects, rethinks the standards of business methods review, and then compares the legislation and practices of the business methods in the United States, Japan and Europe, finally, starting from the basic concept of the review of business method patents, the thesis puts forward some improve proposals on the review of the patentability of business methods. On the basis of the related works study, this thesis focuses on three issues:the theoretical arguments of patent protection on business methods, the review of the patentability of business methods, measures to improve the quality of patentability of business methods. There are seven parts to elaborate these issues:The first part is Preface, which describes the significance and the research methods of the thesis; The second is background knowledge, which introduces the case and court opinion about Bilski Case, including the questions it causes. The third, fourth and fifth parts respectively, describe the four major issues mentioned above. The sixth part points out the measures we should take to improve the quality of patentability of business methods in China. The conclusion part summarizes the core arguments of this thesis.