Curbs on business-method claims would be a dramatic about-face, because it was the Federal Circuit itself that introduced such patents with its 1998 decision in the so-called State Street Bank case, approving a patent on a way of pooling mutual-fund assets.

　　【长难句分析图解】

　　篇章超精读

　　①Curbs on business-method claims would be a dramatic about-face, because it was the Federal Circuit itself that introduced such patents with its 1998 decision in the so-called State Street Bank case, approving a patent on a way of pooling mutual-fund assets.

　　②That ruling produced an explosion in business-method patent filings, initially by emerging Internet companies trying to stake out exclusive rights to specific types of online transactions.

　　③Later, more established companies raced to add such patents to their files, if only as a defensive move against rivals that might beat them to the punch.

　　④In 2005, IBM noted in a court filing that it had been issued more than 300 business-method patents, despite the fact that it questioned the legal basis for granting them.

　　⑤Similarly, some Wall Street investment firms armed themselves with patents for financial products, even as they took positions in court cases opposing the practice.

　　参考译文

　　①对营业方法的限制将会是一次巨大的转变，因为这项专利是联邦巡回法院在 1998 年对所谓的美国道富银行案件做出裁决时推出的，该裁决批准了一项共同基金财产集资方法的专利。

　　②这一裁决引起了对经营方法专利申请的热潮，最初是新兴网络公司试图垄断对一些特别的网上交易方式的专有权。

　　③随后，越来越多的公司竞相申请自己的专利权，以此防范竞争对手“先下手为强”的举动。

　　④2005年，IBM在一项立案中指出，它已被授予了300多项营业方式专利，尽管事实是它也质疑授予这些专利的合法性。

　　⑤同样地，一些华尔街投资公司也通过对一些金融产品申请专利来武装自己，尽管它们对这些法案持反对态度。

　　【参考译文】

　　①现在，国家最 高专利法庭似乎完全准备好去缩减商业方法专利的数量, 这类专利自十年前首次被授 权以来就一直备受争议。

　　②在知识产权律师们对此举的喋喋热议中，美国联邦巡回上诉法院声称他将用一个特别的案例对营业方法进行广泛的审查。

　　③美国密苏里大学法学院的 Dennis D. Crouch 说，正如人们所知道的 Bilski案例就是一件大案子，它有可能取消整个系列的专利。