The introduction of the bill to the next session of US Congress will ask the question whether patents such as Amazon.com’s 1-Click technology which allows shoppers to buy items with one mouse click, protect genuine innovation or whether they just represent on-line equivalents of traditional business methods.
The draft law would make it easier for businesses to challenge such patents which have been popular in the US since a landmark court decision in 1998. The proposal is to make business method patent applications publicly available. The two House Democrats introducing the bill say that this would also benefit those who are granted patents, since it adds weight to their awards.
Critics of business method patents, which are not recognised in Europe, say that they stifle innovation, giving the first-mover a 20 year monopoly over an idea, as opposed to a tangible invention.