[FYI] US-PTO seeks public comment on prior art searches for business methods patents

["Axel H Horns" <horns@ipjur.com>]

http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/com/speeches/01-25.htm

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USPTO SEEKS PUBLIC COMMENT ON PRIOR ART SOURCES FOR BUSINESS METHOD 
PATENTS  

Also seeking new information and material for determining novelty of 
e-commerce inventions.  

The Department of Commerce's United States Patent and Trademark 
Office (USPTO) is soliciting public comment in a Federal Register 
notice on the databases it uses to find prior art relevant to its 
examination of software-implemented business method patents. The 
agency is also seeking public input on additional information and 
material that could be considered during examination of business 
method patents. Complete information about the business method patent 
databases can be found at 
http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/com/sol/notices/ab26.html.  

The law requires that a patent be granted for an invention unless 
USPTO can establish, typically based on prior art references, that 
the invention is not new or that it is obvious when viewed in the 
context of what is already known in the technology. Additionally, the 
invention must have a concrete, tangible and useful result, and how 
to make and use the invention must be disclosed.  

The request for comments on the agency's prior art databases is 
another component of USPTO's March 2000 Business Method Patent 
Initiative 
(http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/com/sol/actionplan.html). The 
Initiative is designed to ensure high quality patents in this fast-
emerging technology. Business method applications are also subject to 
expanded prior art searches and they receive a second review as part 
of the Initiative.  

The USPTO has experienced substantial growth in patent application 
filings for computer-implemented processes related to electronic 
commerce. Applications for software-implemented business method 
patents grew from 170 in 1995 to 7,800 in 2000. Last year USPTO 
issued 899 business method patents.  

USPTO administers patent and trademark laws protecting intellectual 
property and rewarding individual effort. Intellectual property is a 
potent force in the competitive free enterprise system. By protecting 
intellectual endeavors and encouraging technological progress, USPTO 
seeks to preserve the United States' technological edge, which is a 
key to our current and future competitiveness. USPTO also 
disseminates patent and trademark information that promotes an 
understanding of intellectual property protection and facilitates the 
development and sharing of new technologies worldwide.  

Over 6 million patents have been issued since the first patent in 
1790 and more than 2.3 million trademarks have been registered since 
the first in 1870. Last year USPTO issued 182,223 patents and 
registered 127,794 trademarks.  

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