The TRIPS agreement not only sets the basic standard for patentability, but also obliges member states to patent micro-organisms as well as micro-biological processes, which shall be dealt in the following pages. (students.indlaw.com)

There is, at present, no clear definition of what constitutes a "business method" or what makes it different from other types of methods. The traditional view in Europe is that patents protect technical inventions, and "business", being non-technical, therefore should be excluded from patentability. However, with the rise of e-commerce, it has become more difficult to define the boundary between "technical" and "non-technical". This in turn has led to an increase in the number of software patents and business method patents in Europe. ( ius mentis)

While the criteria for obtaining a patent may appear subjective, in fact, the criteria for patentability is fairly objective and well defined in patent law. To meet the litmus test of patentability, an idea must satisfy a three-pronged test of novelty, non-obviousness, and utility. (Ezine articles)