Why Patenting Information Technology and Business Methods Is Not Sound Policy: Lessons From History and Prophecies for the Future

Winter 2002

Hamline Law Review

As participants in an information society we not only depend upon receiving timely, tailored and accurate data, we expect that improvements will be made to the quality and expediency of Information delivery in the future. Internet infrastructure that fuels the transmission of data and has created a several billion-dollar e-commerce industry has developed at an unprecedented rate. The Internet's success is attributed to the many entrepreneurs and innovators who have eagerly joined in its making. While Internet policymakers and stakeholders agree that continued research and development of the mechanisms and processes to improve the network of networks is desirable, there is a polarity of opinion among experts regarding the appropriate treatment of information as intellectual property, particularly when it is utilized or applied primarily in cyberspace.

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