Managing Intellectual Property

Letters to the editor

01 December 2008

Managing Intellectual Property

The Enlarged Board decision on the patentability of computer programs will bring welcome clarity

From David Brinck

As discussed in your November 2008 issue, the president of the EPO has referred four questions to the EPO Enlarged Board of Appeal relating to the patentability of computer programs. It is hoped that this referral will introduce greater certainty and harmony to the way this issue is handled throughout Europe. This must be a good thing, especially given that the EPO is granting patents for most of Europe.

While it is probably too much to be hoped for that the referral will give crystal clear guidance on the types of inventions that are excluded from patentability, from a UK perspective we may hope that the referral will at least have the effect of consigning to history the long string of harsh yet inconsistent UK Court of Appeal decisions (eg Merrill Lynch, Fujitsu, Gale) on the matter. Rather than creating the certainty which is supposed to be...



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