IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/ids/gbusec/v8y2006i3-4p179-186.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The business method patent: a barrier to global harmonisation of intellectual property rights?

Author

Listed:
  • Thomas A. Hemphill

Abstract

One area that has expanded the scope of patent subject matter concerns the patentability of a method of doing business, especially in the context of computer technology, cyber networks, or as a method of e-commerce. In recent years, the USA has taken the lead in recognising the patentability of business methods, specifically in the realm of software-related application. This article focuses on the public policy issues related to business method patents in the USA, and subsequently evaluates trends in the granting of this class (705) of patents by the US Patent and Trademark Office. The concluding portion of the paper evaluates the public policy environment as it pertains to the recognition of computer-related, business method patents in the European Union, and analyses the potential for serious repercussions in the global efforts to harmonise patent laws in the international trade arena as a result of forthcoming legislation before the European Union Parliament which forbids the recognition of business method patents by the European Patent Office.

Suggested Citation

  • Thomas A. Hemphill, 2006. "The business method patent: a barrier to global harmonisation of intellectual property rights?," Global Business and Economics Review, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 8(3/4), pages 179-186.
    • Handle: RePEc:ids:gbusec:v:8:y:2006:i:3/4:p:179-186
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=10148
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ids:gbusec:v:8:y:2006:i:3/4:p:179-186. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sarah Parker (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.inderscience.com/browse/index.php?journalID=168 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.