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European Patent Office opinion reaffirms its approach to software patents | 12 May 2010

The Enlarged Board of Appeal of the European Patent Office (EPO) today issued its answers to questions referred to it by the President of the Office. The questions related to the patentability of computer programs under the European Patent Convention, which governs the grant of patents by the EPO.

The Enlarged Board analysed in detail the development of the case law in this important area, and found that there was not sufficient divergence between decisions issued by the EPO’s Boards of Appeal to need a clarifying decision from the more senior Enlarged Board. The EPO’s existing practice in relation to inventions in this technical field therefore remains unchanged.

Dan Sharrock, Partner writes: “The EPO will therefore continue to grant patents for ideas which provide a technical solution to a technical problem, irrespective of whether some or all of the idea is implemented using software. This outcome will provide reassurance for software developers by increasing the certainty around what constitutes a patentable invention in this area under EPO law. It emphasises the differences between the EPO’s approach and the stricter position adopted by the UK Intellectual Property Office, and will hopefully lead to greater harmonization between the practice of the EPO and that of the individual national patent offices in Europe.”

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