Research On Review Standards Of Business Method Patents

In the age of information technology,technology supports business innovation.A new business model was born under the combination of business model,computer network,electronic equipment and other technical means.In recent years,as many countries have explored the field of business method patent practice,all countries believe that business methods can be the object of patent law protection,but there is still controversy about how to define their review standards.Since the 1980 s in the United States,a number of typical cases issued by U.S.courts at all levels have led to changes in the U.S.judgment standards for business method patents.The research and exploration of business method patents in the United States has always been at the forefront of the world.The “practical,specific and reliable results” standards,“machine or conversion” standards,and “two-step analysis method”of “Practical,Specific and Reliable Results” have enlightened the exploration of other countries in the field of business method patent practice.China’s exploration in business method patent practice is still in the preliminary stage.In recent years,the number of applications for business method patents has increased,but the volume is not large.In practice,the review of business method patents in my country has the problems of imperfect legislation and unclear standards.In practice,in order to improve examination efficiency,in the object examination phase of business method patents,reviewers usually directly search for relevant comparative documents without conducting object eligibility examination.Judge whether the business method patent application is patentable through the pre-novelty and inventive step examination.It is not only impossible to judge whether a business method patent application meets the object requirements stipulated by the patent law,but it also appears to be messy and redundant in the examination process.At the same time,the existing examination standards have not considered the non-technical features of business method patents to be included in the scope of protection of the patent law,resulting in the failure of many business methods to be protected,which is not conducive to encouraging innovation in business methods.On the basis of summarizing,collating and analyzing related documents,this article focuses on how to clarify the examination standards of business method patents in China.By discussing the problems existing in the examination methods and procedures of business method patents in practice in China,it sorts out the case law changes of the US business method patent examination standards.It is proposed that China can reduce the technical review standards in the object review by conducting the "two-step analysis" judgment,supplemented by the "machine or conversion" standard review;and by expanding the scope of search and comparison documents and improving the creative examination standards,the examination methods of the technical features of substantive examination are strengthened,and China’s business method patent examination standards and examination framework are clarified and perfected.