Patents According to a recent decision by the highest patent court, business methods are now patentable subject matter. The Patent and Trademark Office can properly refuse to issue a patent on a sufficiently disclosed business method only if that method existed previously or is obvious in view of prior methods. The first step to developing a business method into a valuable piece of intellectual property is to identify what is new about the method. What are the differences between the new method and what has gone before? Are those differences not obvious? If so, patent protection may be available.

Copyright An idea which is, in its expression, essentially an object of mental and emotional appreciation, and which is embodied in a tangible medium of expression, is possibly subject to copyright protection. Musical compositions, sound recordings, novels, poetry, paintings, and sculpture are all traditionally copyrightable expression. Copyrightable forms of expression in the realm of business include written instructions, advertising designs, promotional copy, computer display layouts, computer programs, game boards, dolls, graphical and sculptural forms which are conceptually separable from useful articles such as lamps, shoes, automobiles.

Trade Secret A business with secret information which provides a competitive advantage may protect that information under trade secret law. Business assets subject to trade secret protection include customer lists, recipes, financial and industrial techniques. To determine the availability and advisability of trade secret protection for a business method, it is necessary to ask whether the method can be maintained as a trade secret while being used in generating revenues.