The decision could mean that Australian businesses who have yet to develop a patenting strategy to protect their intellectual property rights may lose out on royalties from patented business processes.
Opinion is split on the merits of allowing business method patents. Some argue that they stifle innovation, others say they promote innovation. They are common in the US, but almost unheard of in Europe. The Welcome Real-Time patent appears more software based than pure business method. According to the company, the patent, already granted in Europe and Canada, with applications pending in the US and Asia, covers smart card loyalty transactions. At the moment of purchase, data relating to the customer's behaviour towards one or more merchants is updated in the smart card, points are calculated and a coupon or voucher is printed showing the existing entitlement recorded in the card.
The broad claims cover such as storing behaviour data limited to a list of merchant program ID's representing the various points programs in the card. The ID is added to the card at the customer's first visit, so customers can easily participate in multiple programs without having to pre-load their cards at a kiosk or web site.
The system grows in functionality when other behaviour information is used in addition to merchant program ID's. By simply adding the date of the customer's last visit to each merchant, the patent provides the ability to support programs that encourage increased spending over a given period, for example: " get double points if you fill-up again within the next 15 days ", " get a free drink at your 3rd monthly visit and a free value meal at your 5th ", etc.