U.S. Patent and Trademark Office: Assessment of the Covered Business Method Patent Review Program
GAO (2018) U.S. Patent and Trademark Office: Assessment of the Covered Business Method Patent Review Program, Report No. GAO-18-320, Mar 2018
From September 2012 through September 2017, entities facing patent infringement lawsuits filed 524 petitions challenging the validity of 359 patents under the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's (USPTO) covered business method (CBM) program, resulting in decisions against about one-third of these patents. The CBM program provides entities facing infringement lawsuits an opportunity to challenge the validity of a business method patent by demonstrating that it did not meet requirements for patentability. Business method patents focus on ways of doing business in areas such as banking or e-commerce. The rate of filing petitions over this period has fluctuated but has generally declined since 2015, and none were filed in August or September 2017.
Publication type:
project report
Publication language:
English
Publication date:
2018
Publication URL:
https://www.gao.gov/assets/700/690595.pdf
Institute:
Science, Technology Assessment, and Analytics team of the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) (STAA)
Country:
United States of America
Project:
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office: Assessment of the Covered Business Method Patent Review Program (STAA)

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