The patent system has gained political attention in both Europe and the US as the core regulatory regime of an increasingly knowledge-based economy. Europe and the US alike have recently engaged in a series of reform efforts of their patent systems. These efforts reflect a shift from a legal and...

Patents on software and business methods appear to have a pivotal position in today's economy, yet they have remained a policy backwater in which scope of patentable subject matter has expanded without legislative input. This is changing as Europe struggles with patent reform. A push by the...