IP Intelligence › Myths › A business method becomes patentable if you claim it as a sy
Patent myth
“A business method becomes patentable if you claim it as a system.”
Indian decisions look at substance rather than claim format. The business method bar in section 3(k) has no per se or as such qualifier at all.
That asymmetry in the statute matters. Because per se attaches only to computer programme, the exclusion of business methods is absolute in India in a way it is not under the EPC or UK law - so European authorities on as such do not transpose. Adding a processor and a memory to a scheme for delivering something commercially does not change what is being claimed.
A prosecution spent arguing claim format instead of establishing a technical effect that may actually exist.
Sources & further reading
Related
Section 3(k)
Section 3(k) excludes a mathematical method, a business method, a computer programme **per se**, and algorithms from being inventions.
The case that confirmed India bars business methods absolutely
Software claimed as software
You cannot patent a computer programme per se. You can, on current Indian authority, patent an invention that happens to be implemented in software if it delivers a …
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Educational guidance, not legal advice. This material is published by Ragulika IP for general education and information. It is not legal advice, it does not create a professional-client relationship, and it is not a substitute for advice on your own facts. Patentability, infringement, prosecution strategy and every other IP outcome turn on the specific facts and on the law and Patent Office practice as they stand at the time you act. Please take professional advice before making a decision, and read the underlying provision or judgment before relying on any point stated here.
Last reviewed by Ragulika IP on 2026-08-23. Indian patent law and Patent Office practice change; check the position before you rely on it.