The enlarged board of appeal of the european patent office epo has confirmed in a wellknown opinion, g308, that it is possible to avoid any objection of the type program as such by adding one or more technical features in the claims, for instance by introducing some programmable apparatus. A couple of weeks ago i wrote about the danger that the unitary patent would usher in software patents to europe. That implication is contradicted by a scholarly article authored by. The term european patent is used for those patents granted by the european patent office. Several large companies that include microsoft, ibm, philips and nokia have been lobbying the european parliament and the epo for software patents in europe. The office operates according to the european patent convention. Our briefing note on the subject has been updated to take account of recent developments, and aims to explain the current situation and resolve common misconceptions. Still leading the fight against the kind of broad patentability that. If the corrupt european patent office succeeds in imitating americas software patent system, it will be a disaster for software development. The commission said last week that computer programs will be.
This group consists of exactly the same members as the administrative council of the european patent office. Nov 20, 2000 database of software patents granted by the epo, together with some impressive examples, statistics and articles. Apr 17, 2019 european software patents are granted for inventions which provide a nonobvious technical contribution to the prior art. European court decisions still accept in many cases the validity of the software patents granted by national patent offices and the european patent. Find information on applying and searching for patents, legal issues on patents, patent grants, rules. Having a software patent granted in europe by the epo is already a great result for an applicant. Software patents in europe law office of david mcewing, p. Help stop software patents in europe again computerworld.
United states and europe compared software is a global business. This allows you to see what already exists, find out about technical aspects of your competitors work or spot trends in technology. For litigation and licensing purposes, it is desirable to have several software patents with at least a comparable scope of protection, granted in countries other than the ones bound by the epc. Patent protection for softwareimplemented inventions.
Software patents under the european patent convention wikipedia. Mar 07, 2017 the number of patents granted to us companies by the european patent office epo grew by 46. Of course, patent lawyers are also found in the european patent office epo, which has prepared the ground for the introduction of software patents by granting roughly 30,000 software patents acting clearly outside its mandate and disregarding the european patent convention from 1973. The mess that is the european software patent the ipkat. This article lists examples of software patents granted by the european patent office epo in spite of their repeated public claims of not granting software patents. European court decisions still accept in many cases the validity of the software patents granted by national patent offices and the european patent office epo that is beyond democratic control. The european patent office will grant a software patent if the invention. In some regions, a regional patent office, for example, the european patent office, accepts regional patent applications, or grants patents, which have the same effect as applications filed, or patents granted, in the member states of that region.
We provide access to the largest single source of technical information in the world. In europe, the european patent convention epc expressly excludes. As the process is pretty long it involves some specific steps, which can be divided into separate subactivities. The proposal was supposed to be voted upon last week in the european parliaments. In europe, computer programs as such are excluded from patentability, thus european patent office policy is consequently that a program for a computer is not patentable if it does not have the potential to cause a. Austria, belgium, bulgaria, czech republic, cyprus, denmark, estonia, finland, france, germany, greece, hungary, ireland, italy. Granting and koen lievens andrei stefan september 2014 refusing of patent applications file. The unfortunate effect of this is that the prospects of getting granted patents. So the european patents office epo grants software patents by declaring them as computer implemented inventions. Software patent campaigners have reacted with surprise to an apparent change in the european commissions stance on those patents.
Obtaining patent protection for software in europe. Join april, the fsfs french ally, in calling for strong legislation against software patents in europe. Jul 10, 2019 first, they claim that the european patent office is granting applications that would fail under section 101 in the u. Find information on applying and searching for patents, legal issues on patents, patent grants, rules and regulations about european and international patent applications. As a result of this partial exclusion, and despite the fact that the epo subjects patent applications in this field to a much stricter scrutiny when compared to their. European patent convention this area contains legal texts from the epo, including the european patent convention, ancillary regulations to the epc, national law.
European patent convention epc member countries are. This page describes the current approach of the european patent office epo concerning the patentability of software and business method inventions with a view to providing some insight regarding when an invention devised in a software andor business context might be patentable at. The basic patentability requirements for any kind of invention at the european patent office, including softwarebased innovations, are laid down in art. I am concerned about european patent office practices, which are undermining the social acceptability of the. Jay lyman opponents of software patents in europe knew this summers overwhelming european parliament vote against a patent directive was not the end of the fight. It and software patents in europe bastian best, saint petersburg. The purpose of the office is to grant such european patents.
The predecessor of the european patent office was the institut international des brevets or iib. Explore engineering careers and apply for jobs in engineering. Under the european patent convention epc, a computer program as such is not considered as a patentable invention. The european patent offices epo longawaited decision on the issue of software patentability brings little change at a european level but provides some hope for uk software companies, who. So the european patents office epo grants software patents by declaring them as. If it performs a purely nontechnical task, it cannot be patented at the european patent office. Saving europe from software patents gnu project free. Software and business method patents in europe and the uk. For granting european patents, the european patent office epo is bound by the provisions of the european patent convention epc. Jan 25, 2006 opponents of software patents in europe knew this summers overwhelming european parliament vote against a patent directive. European patent office, examination of computerimplemented inventions at the european patent office with particular attention to computerimplemented business methods, official journal epo, 112007, pp 594600. Thats how it is today in the us, because of software patents. This is particularly true in europe, where the 1978 european patent convention epc explicitly forbids patents on computer programs as such.
Imagine that each time you made a software design decision, and especially whenever you used an algorithm that you read in a journal or implemented a feature that users ask for, you took a risk of being sued. You will also find links on this page to other collections of examples. Stop software patents from muscling in on europe free. By ania jedrusik, consultant, ip and innovation, switzerland, and phil wadsworth, ip consultant and former chief patent counsel, vicepresident and legal counsel of global ip at qualcomm inc. Nevertheless, the european patent office epo provides inventors the ability to file a single european patent application, which, if granted provides a bundle of national patents. The european patent convention states that software is not patentable. We will also analyze patentability and infringement, prepare for oppositions and appeals, handle appeals and administrative annulment procedures, both in europe and abroad. Ctr european patemt application services assists sme to apply for european patent ep to protect its patent in europe covering the member states of the european patent organization epo and its extended states.
The talk covers some facts and statistics about the european patent system 0. Member states may place requirements such as translation into an official language. European patent law explicitly excludes computer programs and methods of. European council approves software patents by kerem kaya 9 july 2004 patentability of computer software in europe has been accepted by the council of ministers of the european union. Software patents in europe law office of david mcewing. Software patent campaigners have reacted with surprise to an apparent change in the european commissions stance on.
Yet judicial decisions from the european patent office epo and a failed attempt at european legislation have turned this seemingly clear phrase into a quagmire. The european patent office epo does not grant patents for computer programs software patents or computer implemented business methods that make no. But laws are always interpreted by courts, and in this case interpretations of the law differ. From ai to blockchains and now selfdriving vehicles. The leadership which comes after battistelli is even worse when it comes to patent scope and patent quality. This page describes the current approach of the european patent office epo concerning the patentability of software and business method inventions with a view to providing some insight regarding when an invention devised in a software andor business context might be patentable at the epo. Software patents under the european patent convention. In the epo, the european patent offices enlarged board of appeal this month issued a decision that refused a request by epo president alison brimelow to. The premises of the european patent office enjoy a form of extraterritoriality. This is information is also available in japanese, chinese and korean. Many of the articles imply that neither software nor business method patents are granted by the european patent office epo. This european software patent horror gallery will be introduced on. Within the council, the working party on intellectual property patents is considered to be in charge of the dossier. Patentability of software and business method inventions in europe.
The official website of the european patent office epo. They are now gearing up for another round, as propatent lobbyists come out of their corner swinging. The patentability of software, computer programs and computerimplemented inventions under the european patent convention epc is the extent to which subject matter in these fields is patentable under the convention on the grant of european patents of october 5, 1973. This allows you to see what already exists, find out about technical aspects of your competitors work. European software patents archives software patent law.
These then get passed on to the member states designated by the applicant, to be validated by the national patent office. As a result, patents granted by the european patent office may also be validated in these jurisdictions, in. Whether or not they can get the same patents in europe, european firms are left facing the new polished, highvolume, wellsupported products in their home markets. Our patent filing service consists of performing patent searches and watches, prosecuting patent applications, and paying annuities. While europes software patent law is written differently, it includes sections that are roughly the same, in practice, as todays section 101. There have been many recent blogs regarding the wisdom of modifying the rules of the european patent office to extend patent protection to computer software. This database shows that software patents granted by the european patent office are even more trivial than software patents granted in the united states. When it comes to digital innovation, software patents are one of the hotbutton.
Technology is the backbone of the digital economy and much of its value lies in software. Historically, to obtain a patent in a country you had to apply to the patent office in that country. Philip leith, software and patents in europe, cambridge university press, uk, 2007, isbn 9780521868396, pp. This article focuses on european patent law and how it differs from united states law in. Patents for software and business methods have been a contentious topic of discussion amongst patent practitioners in europe for a long time. Software patents what the european patent office ruling.
This poses a threat to freelibre software and weve covered this in the posts beneath. The decision announced last week to refer the controversial question about the patentability of software to the highest appeals body of the european patent office has been welcomed by lawyers and software engineers alike. I am concerned about european patent office practices, which are undermining the social acceptability of the patent system, with patents being granted for. Granting procedures for european patents and unitary patents the epo grants european patents. The european patent office offers espacenet as a free tool for beginners and experts to perform patent searches for inventions and technical developments. European patent office grants more patents to us companies. May 24, 2006 software patent campaigners have reacted with surprise to an apparent change in the european commissions stance on those patents. Nov 07, 2018 software patents remain junk patents in the united states not enforceable, whereas the epo keeps granting them and promoting them we take note of the positive outcomes in the us, where courts continue to reject software patents, but in europe the largest patent office, which sought to replace all the courts, still acts as if patent law does not exist and patents can be endlessly printed. European software patent referral receives welcome. Even though you are a uk or european company, if you have global ambitions, you will be exposed to patent threats in the us marketplace without having anything to fight back with. In what some are viewing as surprising developments, both the european board of patent appeals and the german court handed down decisions favoring patent protection for software in europe.
First, they claim that the european patent office is granting applications that would fail under section 101 in the u. European patent office grants software patents software. The intellectual property protection of computer software has been highly debated at. At the end of 2009, the european patent office had a staff of 6818 with 3718 based in munich, 2710 in rijswijk, 274 in berlin, 112 in vienna and 4 in brussels. Our mission is to provide the busy software patent enthusiast with concise and actionable summaries of virtually all epo board of appeal decisions that concern european software patents. As you can see, in the end it really comes down to what the software actually does. Oct 28, 2012 this is particularly true in europe, where the 1978 european patent convention epc explicitly forbids patents on computer programs as such. The number of patents granted to us companies by the european patent office epo grew by 46.