New Law for the E-Commerce Age* Case Analysis on Internet BusinessMethod Patents in the USA

Under Section 101 (between partentable) of the US Patent Act, the courts created two judicially0created exceptions to patentable subject matters: mathematical algorithm and business method. However, Stat Street Bank & Trust Co. V. Singnature Financial Group, Inc. rendered by the Court of Appeals of the Fderal Circuit in 1998 recognized patentability of business method inventions. Nevertheless, many Internet business method patents newly issued after State Street Bak have been criticized for patentability problems such as abstract ideas or method without particular means or useunder Section 101, lack of novelty under Section 102, and obviousness under Section 103. To prevent these criticism from becoming grounds to deny business methodpatents as a whole, the Congress and the courts need to provide more clear guidelines to examine the business method patent applications, and the USPTO should be equiped with its organizational ability enough to scructinize patentability of the applications under the present Patent Act.