Intellectual Property and Patent & Trade Mark Protection

Intellectual Property and Patent & Trade Mark Protection

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  • Dr. Rolf Claessen
    Dr. Rolf Claessen    Premium Member   Group moderator
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    Enlarged Board of Appeals (EPO) decides about Computer Implemented Inventions
    In his excellent Blog IPJur, Axel Horns reports on a new referral to the Enlarged Board of Appeals (EPO) to decide about Computer Implemented Inventions with the following questions:

    Question 1: Can a computer program only be excluded as a computer program as such if it is explicitly claimed as a computer program?

    Question 2(A): Can a claim in the area of computer programs avoid exclusion under Article 52(2)(C) and (3) merely by explicitly mentioning the use of a computer or a computer-readable data storage medium?

    Question 2(B): If question 2(A) is answered in the negative, is a further technical effect necessary to avoid exclusion, said effect going beyond those effects inherent in the use of a computer or data storage medium to respectively execute or store a computer program?

    Question 3(A): Must a claimed feature cause a technical effect on a physical entity in the real world in order to contribute to the technical character of the claim?

    Question 3(B): If question 3(A) is answered in the positive, is it sufficient that the physical entity be an unspecified computer?

    Question 3(C): If question 3(A) is answered in the negative, can features contribute to the technical character of the claim if the only effects to which they contribute are independent of any particular hardware that may be used?

    Question 4(A): Does the activity of programming a computer necessarily involve technical considerations?

    Question 4(B): If Question 4(A) is answered in the positive, do all features resulting from programming thus contribute to the technical character of a claim?

    Question 4(C): If question 4(A) is answered in the negative, can features resulting from programming contribute to the technical character of a claim only when they contribute to a further technical effect when the program is executed?

    The full blog post can be found here:

    http://www.ipjur.com/blog2/index.php?/archives/6-Ms-Brimelow...

    What do you think? Will these questions make things easier or more complicated?

    Rolf Claessen
    • 31 Oct 2008, 2:20 pm