Business Method Patents in Europe

The European Patent Office in Munich has been granting patents for almost 35 years and in most established field of technology, such as physics, electronics, engineering, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, etc., there are no obstacles – apart from the usual ones of novelty and inventive step (or obviousness). There is, however, a debate about the extent to which European patents should be available for innovations in other newer areas of technology, particularly in the fields of business methods and software.This paper discusses the current approach of the European Patent Office (EPO) and the UK Intellectual Property Office concerning the patentability of 'business methods'.