Us And European Financial Business Method Patent Protection Comparative Study And Its Enlightenment

In recent years, domestic and international financial business method patents (BMPs) applications increased dramatically, and competitive enterprises in developed countries continue to hold the commanding heights of the financial sector through the expansion BMPs strategy. In this context, based on the statistics and comparative analysis of United States and Europe financial BMPs 1997-2010, this paper analyzes the examination system of determining financial BMPs protection, its structure and corresponding rights protection mechanism, through case studies, statistical analysis, comparisons and empirical research methods.Firstly, we analyze the differences of financial BMPs examination system between U.S. and European. Study found that U.S. and European financial BMPs examination system obtained a rapid development since 1998. During this period, problems came out one after another for both U.S. and Europe and many different methods were used to solve them. And a good examination system will greatly promote the applications of financial BMPs.Secondly, we analyze the both the macro and micro factors of the U.S. and European financial BMPs structural characteristics. Study found that:At macro level, financial BMP applications and authorization have been greatly improved in recent years, while the U.S. dominance became more apparent. At micro level, through the analysis of the main applications from U.S. and European financial BMP, we can see that U.S. financial institutions in financial innovation and intellectual property protection are far ahead of Europe and other countries.Then, we analyze the U.S. and Europe rights protection mechanisms. Compare to other patents, it remains great controversy for financial BMP. And this is due to the history of this kind of patent production is still very short. These controversies led to the importance of the rights protection mechanism. Through the research of the U.S. and the European BMP litigation and opposition activists, we found the rights protection mechanisms in the U.S. and Europe are different. Then we use case analysis to reflect the significant role of case law of the U.S. and European BMP.Finally, we empirically analyze the main factors of financial BMPs protection in the U.S. and the European. The results indicate that:the examination system and the rights protection mechanisms are crucial important for BMPs. On this basis, we analyze Chinese current status and problems of financial BMPs, and summarize the inspiration of the U.S. and European financial BMPs protection for China.