Business method patents

A business method patent is a patent on a way of does business, commerce.

Business method patents are intimately linked to software patents because they can usually be turned into software patents by adding a computer. A standard way to do this is to claim "computer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions" which carry out the business method.

Examples

• 1-click shopping
• E-Data has a patent that convince Apple to pay to sell music online
• The Baboon Inc. v. Dell, cv-09-1198 (USDC CD Cal.) case (ongoing as of Nov 9th 2009)[1]

Patent applications which were rejected or have not yet received a final decision:

• Bilski's patent application text - rejected by in USA by USPTO, CAFC, Supreme Court

Related pages on ESP Wiki

• Litigation and specific patents
• Example software patents
  • Audio-video patents
  • Financial transaction patents
  • Image processing patents
  • Micro-blogging patents
  • Security, encryption and spam solution patents
  • Webpage and e-commerce patents
  • XML patents

External links

• Real business method patents, Patently-o, 17 Oct, 2005 - part 2
• Patent Board Eliminates "Technological Arts" Requirement For Business Method Patents, Patently-o, 17 Oct, 2005
• Examples of granted European business method patents, 2004, by Arnoud Engelfriet
• E-Commerce Battles 'Me'-Commerce - "If you're selling online [in the US], at the most recent count there are 4,319 patents you could be violating"
• The Post-Bilski landscape: Why some tried, but failed, to ban "business method" patents, 15 July, 2010
• Wikipedia: Business method patent
• What's so bad about "business method" patents? Small PR firms "goosed" by a patent on press releases, 21 July, 2010