Internet patents: will they hinder the development of e-commerce?

This paper reviews patent law in regard to Internet from a mainly US perspective as there is a lack of related examples in the UK and Europe. (Thus resulting in lack of case law and related academic writing on the topic.) This situation is likely to change and the purpose of the paper is to raise awareness of the need for patent law to address the growing number of Internet patents by discussing existing legal provisions in this area. Recent decisions by the US courts which have granted patents to inventions which enable on-line business are outlined. The paper concludes with a discussion of the issues such as monoploy, litigation, jurisdiction, infringement in relation to the increasing number of Internet patent applications being filed.