Have Business Method Patents Gotten a Bum Rap? Some Empirical Evidence
This study presents the results of an empirical test of two hypotheses concerning the quality of a group of data processing patents on methods of doing business. The hypotheses are motivated by two frequently voiced criticisms of these...
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| Format: | Working Paper |
| Language: | en_US |
| Published: |
2003
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/3538 |
| _version_ | 1826196131707617280 |
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| author | Hunter, Starling David, III |
| author_facet | Hunter, Starling David, III |
| author_sort | Hunter, Starling David, III |
| collection | MIT |
| description | This study presents the results of an empirical test of two hypotheses concerning the
quality of a group of data processing patents on methods of doing business. The
hypotheses are motivated by two frequently voiced criticisms of these patents: that
their scope is overly broad and that they cite too little "prior art" (the extant body of
knowledge or the array of prior solutions to the problem which the patented invention
purports to solve). Using a sample of over 3,500 data processing, software, and
internet patents granted between 1975-1999, I tested the two hypotheses with three
patent statistics - the number of patent and non-patent prior art citations and the
number of claims. In short, I find little support for the "conventional wisdom"
concerning patents on methods of doing business. More specifically, I find that these
patents neither cite less patent or non-patent prior nor make more claims While these
findings don't completely exonerate business method patents of the charges of inferior
quality, they do suggest that, at a minimum, they are no worse than other data
processing patents along these two aspects of patent quality |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T10:21:54Z |
| format | Working Paper |
| id | mit-1721.1/3538 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | en_US |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T10:21:54Z |
| publishDate | 2003 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/35382019-04-12T08:20:06Z Have Business Method Patents Gotten a Bum Rap? Some Empirical Evidence Hunter, Starling David, III Patents Business Method Patents Intellectual Property Data Processing Electronic Commerce This study presents the results of an empirical test of two hypotheses concerning the quality of a group of data processing patents on methods of doing business. The hypotheses are motivated by two frequently voiced criticisms of these patents: that their scope is overly broad and that they cite too little "prior art" (the extant body of knowledge or the array of prior solutions to the problem which the patented invention purports to solve). Using a sample of over 3,500 data processing, software, and internet patents granted between 1975-1999, I tested the two hypotheses with three patent statistics - the number of patent and non-patent prior art citations and the number of claims. In short, I find little support for the "conventional wisdom" concerning patents on methods of doing business. More specifically, I find that these patents neither cite less patent or non-patent prior nor make more claims While these findings don't completely exonerate business method patents of the charges of inferior quality, they do suggest that, at a minimum, they are no worse than other data processing patents along these two aspects of patent quality 2003-08-15T19:35:31Z 2003-08-15T19:35:31Z 2003-08-15T19:35:31Z Working Paper http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/3538 en_US MIT Sloan School of Management Working Paper;4326-03 239476 bytes application/pdf application/pdf |
| spellingShingle | Patents Business Method Patents Intellectual Property Data Processing Electronic Commerce Hunter, Starling David, III Have Business Method Patents Gotten a Bum Rap? Some Empirical Evidence |
| title | Have Business Method Patents Gotten a Bum Rap? Some Empirical Evidence |
| title_full | Have Business Method Patents Gotten a Bum Rap? Some Empirical Evidence |
| title_fullStr | Have Business Method Patents Gotten a Bum Rap? Some Empirical Evidence |
| title_full_unstemmed | Have Business Method Patents Gotten a Bum Rap? Some Empirical Evidence |
| title_short | Have Business Method Patents Gotten a Bum Rap? Some Empirical Evidence |
| title_sort | have business method patents gotten a bum rap some empirical evidence |
| topic | Patents Business Method Patents Intellectual Property Data Processing Electronic Commerce |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/3538 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT hunterstarlingdavidiii havebusinessmethodpatentsgottenabumrapsomeempiricalevidence |