Recent developments in business method patents in the U.S. and the implication to the People’s Republic of China : a comparative perspective

• Main Author: Niu, Jinghui
• Language: English
• Published: University of British Columbia 2010
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/27782

A detailed and structured comparative study concerning business method patents (BMPs) is conducted between Chinese and the United States patent regime. This comparative study covers BMPS' concepts, jurisprudential history, related terminologies, theoretical rationales, functional cores of the two countries' legal and administrative systems, as well as paradigms for public opinions towards BMPs. The comparisons are based on the most recently updated legislative and judiciary developments in the two countries. Following this comparison is a philosophical and economic analysis on implications of BMPs in general. Examples of how BMPs work in real-world in the two countries' administration, and why BMPs are important and can affect businesses strategically, are given. Then the issue of cross-border enforcement, which is generally thought of as a particularly challenging aspect of BMPs, is touched on. In the final chapter, placed in a globalized context, the concept of externalities in economics is introduced into the analysis of the BMPs' value for a country's innovation and entrepreneurial environment. The purpose of this thesis is to explore important dimensions of BMPs from an updated and more globalized angle, providing a perspective for policymakers, practitioners and scholars in the field, especially for those who are interested in the two countries being researched.