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Article: Assessing the patentability of financial services and products.(Report)
- Article from:
- The Journal of High Technology Law
- Article date:
- January 1, 2004
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 Suffolk University Law School. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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I. INTRODUCTION
This paper examines the patentability of business methods, specifically those that are related to financial products. Traditionally, business methods have been excluded as unpatentable subject matter under 35 U.S.C. [section] 101. (1) In the late 1990's, State Street Bank & Trust entered negotiations with Signature Financial Group, Inc. for a license on a patented method of valuing a Mutual Fund product commonly known as a Master-Feeder fund. (2) When negotiations broke down, State Street challenged the validity of that patent. (3) The appellate court decision examined two exceptions to patentable subject matter: the mathematical algorithm ...