How Do You Patent A Business Model?
The United States is one of the few nations of the world that patents business methods. In 1988, the US Supreme Court cleared the way for business patents under the clause in U.S. patent law that provides for the patenting of “the process, act or method by which something is made”. Since 1988, a great number of business patents have been issued in the US. Decide whether you should keep your business method as a trade secret rather than as a patented invention. Patents expire 20 years from the date of filing, while trade secrets (the formula for Coca-Cola, for example) can be kept indefinitely. Depending on the nature of your business method, however, it may be impossible to keep its details secret. A trade secret offers no protection if a subsequent inventor independently develops a similar or identical business method. Draft detailed specifications describing your business method including its methods, processes and results. The details should be comprehensive enough to allow someone
