Research On The Substantive Examination Standard Of Business Method Patents

Traditional business methods are implemented through a variety of modern electronic devices,forming a network business method that becomes the object of patent protection.However,the substantive examination criteria for business method patents vary widely from country to country.It is of great significance to study the substantive examination standards of commercial method patents in China and improve the quality of examination of related patents.Business method patents are methods that use technology to create,collect,integrate,and process business information.The essence of business method patents should be the means by which business methods are the mainstay and technical means are used in conjunction with the implementation of commercial methods.Based on this understanding,this paper argues that the object review of business method patents should incorporate non-technical features,and that the review criteria should be “hardware standards”.On this basis,the novelty and creative review of business method patents should review both the technical and non-technical aspects.On the one hand,in the review of novelty,in order to more accurately evaluate non-technical features due to the addition of non-technical features,the search target should be expanded from “prior art” to “existing literature”,and the “whole overall” should be applied.In principle,it is considered whether the business level is the same overall.Only when the technical level and the business method level are the same,the business method patent cannot pass the novelty review.If the two are the same,the novelty cannot be denied.On the other hand,when reviewing creativity,in addition to reviewing technical innovations,it is also necessary to review innovations at the non-technical level.The creation of non-technical features is the innovation of business methods,embodied in innovative methods for the creation,collection,integration and processing of business information.The traditional “three-step approach” does not allow for a good review of non-technical innovations,so an overall review approach needs to be introduced.The technical means,commercial methods,and combinations of the two in the commercial method patent claims should contribute to creativity.The order of contribution from large to small should be: the combination of technology,technology and business methods,and business methods.