In the last three months of 2000, the Office rejected 64% of business method patent applications, up from a rejection rate of 44% in the first three months of the same year. A total of 899 business method patents were granted last year in the US. In 1999, the rejection rate for applications was 38%.
Since March 2000, the Office has required all applications in the class of business methods to undergo a second review, unlike other applications. WSJ.com reports that patent examiners are also being given industry “field trips” to help them identify which processes are obvious or routine and therefore ineligible for patent protection.
Among the rejected ideas was an “invention” for selling books through a web page. A customer would browse through the selection of books, place an order by filling out a form and submit the order with credit card information so that the customer can be charged and the order sent in just a few days.
The UK Government recently voiced support for opening the door to software patents in the UK, but said it is still against business method patents. The results of a recent European Commission study on the same issues are awaited.