Business Method Patents: Characters in Search of Legal Protection
Publisher
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
The aim of this research is to investigate the phenomenon of business
method patents in Europe. Not only the issue of patentability of business
methods is discussed, but also the possible strategic use of these
patents and patent applications is explored. For this purpose, a data set
has been specifically created, including all the applications submitted in
the class G06Q (namely data processing systems or methods, specially
adapted for administrative, commercial, financial, managerial, supervision
or forecasting purpose) at the EPO. A quantitative analysis of the
data has been performed, revealing the huge volume of business method
patent applications (more than 34,000) filed at the EPO over the last
20 years. Equally, a continued interest of large companies in patenting
business methods has been demonstrated. However, these empirical
observations seem to be inconsistent with both the legal framework
(most notably Article 52 EPC 2000 establishes that business methods
are not patentable) and the low rate of acceptance of applications (only
a small fraction of patents have eventually been granted) in the category
of business methods at the EPO. All of this supports the hypothesis
that firm demand for business method patent protection can be driven
by strategic purposes, often resulting in inefficiencies in the market and
reducing in competition. Hence, the research presented intends to highlight
overcoming inefficiencies, as well as possible antidotes provided by
the EU competition law. On this purpose, some of the common practices,
such as hold-up or tacit collusion, are identified. At the same time,
the beneficial effects of mutual licensing agreements are highlighted. In
particular, the research examines the European legal framework on the
technology transfer agreements. Their effectiveness in contrasting business
method patents’ strategic uses is analysed, particularly regarding
reduction on competition. Based on this, the thesis argues ultimately
that a wider opening in granting patent protection to business methods
will not result in discouraging new entries in the field.
Authors
Coniglione, Giuseppina ClaudiaCollections
- Theses [4116]