Bessen/Hunt technique

Graph of the number of software patents (per Bessen/Hunt 2004) relative to the total number of patents granted by the USPTO since 1971

One technique for identifying software patents within the patent database of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) was proposed by Bessen and Hunt in a 2004 working paper.^[1] This technique is used by the Public Patent Foundation to track software patents granted by the USPTO and shows that the number of software patents being granted is generally increasing year on year.^[2]

The technique proposed by Bessen and Hunt involves conducting a keyword search within the USPTO patent database as follows:

(("software" in specification) OR ("computer" AND "program" in specification))

AND (utility patent excluding reissues)

ANDNOT ("chip" OR "semiconductor" OR "bus" OR "circuit" OR "circuitry" in title)

ANDNOT ("antigen" OR "antigenic" OR "chromatography" in specification)

An actual query that may be submitted to the USPTO database to retrieve patents granted in 2005 is as follows:^[3]

ISD/(1/1/2005->1/1/2006)

AND SPEC/(software OR (computer AND program))

AND APT/1

ANDNOT TTL/(chip OR semiconductor OR bus OR circuit OR circuitry)

ANDNOT SPEC/(antigen or antigenic OR chromatography)

Topics
Computer programs, software and patent law

Debate - List of patents
By treaty
TRIPS Agreement Patent Cooperation Treaty European Patent Convention
By country
United Kingdom United States
Related topics
Business methods
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[edit] See also

^ An Empirical Look at Software Patents Working Paper No. 03-17/R by James Bessen and Robert M. Hunt
^ The Public Patent Foundation website provides regular updates on the number of patents being granted using a technique similar to the Bessen/Hunt technique but which does not exclude re-examinations and design patents
^ USPTO Tips on Fielded Searching