What problem could big banks have with one man? The inventor of a digital check processing system, which he patented, has become a millionaire due to their dependence on the technology. The banks’ main argument relates to a subtle detail known in the patent world, that business method patents, which are patents that secure a specific task performance but not the equipment itself, are based on a misapplication of patent law. The staple use of the digital check processing system has motivated an attempt on the part of big banks to remove Claudio Ballard from the equation.

They have as well enlisted the help of New York’s Senator Charles E. Schumer, who succeeded in passing a bill in March with an appended overhaul provision that would expropriate the technology from Ballard. It would also grant banks a federal re-examination looking into cases where they have been accused of violating patent law.

The patent office has evaluated and validated Ballard’s patents, which the bill would take into consideration by expanding its scope in light of different factors.

While the banks insist that patent law has been misused, their move has drawn criticism from supporters of Mr. Ballard’s DataTreasury Corporation of Texas. According to their spokesman, John Feehery, the move is “a specific provision aimed at a small company.” To back this claim, their supporters have argued that the banks have focused on this provision’s relationship with this specific type of technology versus ecommerce in other industries.

Even though Mr. Schumer says that the majority of New York’s largest banks have already settled with Mr. Ballard, Mr. Ballard and his Texas DataTreasury have used jury verdicts and royalties to hire their own Washington lobbyist.

The Financial Services Roundtable, the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association and the Independent Community Bankers of America said that they would fight against the bill if it does not include financial exemption from the check-processing technology. Patent law will also be affected by the bill, requiring an inventor to be the first to submit a patent file versus being the first to submit an invention in order to obtain a patent. Small businesses see this as potentially leading them to be beat to the patent office and therefore oppose it.

The bill is also being supported by Mr. David J. Kappos, the patent office directory, who according to Mr. Schumer has helped him write the provision.

Mr. Steve Bartlett, head of the Financial Services Roundtable to which Mr. Schumer belongs, claims that “patents of dubious quality” are at core of the problem. Mr. Ballard, a computer engineer who has built his career in the technology industry and the founder of several companies, dislikes the allegation that he and his company known for “exploiting dubious patents.” Ballard offers, “I am an expert at systems integration, and I created this complete end-to-end solution. To the banks’ claim to have discovered the process before him, according to Mr. Ballard, is patently ridiculous.