A patent confers on its holder a legal monopoly, for a limited period, in commercial exploitation of the patented invention. In return for the monopoly the inventor must disclose his invention so that others may utilise his knowledge. The Government s conclusion is thus to reaffirm the principle that patents are for technological innovations. Software should not be patentable where there is no technological innovation, and technological innovations should not cease to be patentable merely because the innovation lies in software. However, the Government agrees with those respondents who said that at present the law is not clear enough, and that this is damaging.
Clarification is needed.
The Government intends to take this matter up with its partners in the European Union and the European Patent Convention as a matter of urgency. Ways of Doing Business 24. There is no sign, at least to date, of a want of innovation in computer-implemented business methods, and nor was there in the US before business methods became patentable in 1998. Intense innovation has characterised this field. The Government s conclusion is that those who favour some form of patentability for business methods have not provided the necessary evidence that it would be likely to increase innovation.