Intellectual Property Article: EU Proposes More Limited Protection for Software and Business Methods Patents Than U.S.
1/1/2003
The European Commission (EC) has recently proposed limiting the types of software and business method patents available in Europe. The EC proposal, if adopted, would further widen the gap between what is patentable in Europe versus what is patentable in the United States (and some other countries). It will also increase the risk that patent applications prepared and first filed in Europe and then later filed in the U.S., may not fully benefit from the additional protection available in the U.S., unless certain steps are taken at the time of filing in Europe to ensure full protection for the patent.
This article provides information about the EC proposal, its impact on the scope of protection available in Europe and certain steps to take to possibly avoid forfeiting some aspects of U.S. or European patent rights for software and business methods applications.
