Patents for business ideas, as opposed to physical inventions, are controversial. They have been around in the US since 1998 when the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit decided that a business method is not an "abstract idea" but an idea that leads to the transformation of intangible or tangible material, with a practical and useful result – a result that is patentable.
European patent offices, including the UK Patent Office, tend to reject such applications. A "technical contribution" or "technical aspect" is required before patentability can be considered.
Notwithstanding, applications are flooding in. So in an effort to deal with them in an efficient and cost effective manner, the UK Patent Office has decided to make two changes in cases where the examiner thinks that the invention is "inherently unpatentable."
Firstly, says the Patent Office, a hearing will be set as soon as the applicant has responded to the initial examination report issued by the Office. At this hearing the Hearing Officer will make a ruling on the patentability of the invention.
Secondly, the Hearing Officer will no longer be required to issue detailed reasons for his ruling but can issue an abbreviated decision, referring back to similar cases.