IP Legal Services has conducted patent searches, drafted and filed business method patent applications. To see examples of our published and granted patents, please view our posted list of business method patents. Ash Tankha, Patent Attorney, frequently authors articles on business method patents in magazines.
Business Method Prior Art Search Process
The following information is required by the patent attorney for conducting a prior art search for a business method patent application
The steps of the business process
Identify which of the above steps(s) you consider to be novel over the prior art
An example of the business method patent invention
Business Method Patent Application Process
The following information is required by the patent attorney for drafting a business method patent application:
Current state of the art.
Advantages of the business method inventive concept over the current art.
A detailed process description of the business method invention. Ensure that all the important steps of the business methods are identified such that the steps depict the business method invention completely. Most importantly, identify the steps which you consider are novel over the prior art.
Flow diagrams for understanding of the business method invention with an explanation of the flow diagram.
General U.S.PTO Statistics of Business Method Patents
Since 1998, an increasing number of business method patents have been issued for companies that have developed new ways of conducting business.
Examples of business domains comprise Banking, Securities, Business Development, Marketing Analysis, Real Estate Analysis, Business Consulting, Management, Sales, Insurance, Business Information Systems and Financial Analysis.
The U.S. Patent Office has granted approximately 50,000 business method patents and 32,602 business methods patent applications are currently under review by the U.S.PTO. There are about 161,058 patents granted in the field of Management methods, 35,574 in sales methods patents, 10,218 in Insurance methods patents, 9,725 in Banking methods patents and 2,426 in Securities methods patents. (The above numbers are approximate and obviously increase over time)
