{"id":550,"date":"2019-04-17T11:14:50","date_gmt":"2019-04-17T09:14:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bardehle.com\/europeansoftwarepatents\/?p=550"},"modified":"2021-09-29T19:51:29","modified_gmt":"2021-09-29T17:51:29","slug":"software-patent-epo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bardehle.com\/europeansoftwarepatents\/software-patent-epo\/","title":{"rendered":"Software patent applications: How the EPO examines innovative software"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>This article is updated regularly. Last update: May 6, 2021<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The legal basis for software patents in the EPC<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The basic patentability requirements for any kind of invention at the European Patent Office, including software-based innovations, are laid down in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.epo.org\/law-practice\/legal-texts\/html\/epc\/2016\/e\/ar52.html\">Art. 52(1) EPC<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>European patents shall be granted for any inventions, in <strong>all fields of technology<\/strong>, provided that they are <strong>new<\/strong>, <strong>involve an inventive step<\/strong> and are susceptible of industrial application.<\/p><cite>Art. 52(1) EPC<br><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>The EPC does not include a fixed definition of the term \u201c<strong>technology<\/strong>\u201c. For a good reason: Technology constantly evolves and the legal framework should be flexible enough to adapt to new developments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But there is a list of items in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.epo.org\/law-practice\/legal-texts\/html\/epc\/2016\/e\/ar52.html\">Art. 52(2) EPC<\/a> that are considered <strong>not to be inventions<\/strong> in a field of technology. The common denominator of these items is that they are all rather abstract things, i.e. they are <strong>in themselves non-technical<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>discoveries, scientific theories and mathematical methods<\/li><li>aesthetic creations (those are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bardehle.com\/ip-news-knowledge\/publikation\/detail\/ipnews\/info\/design-protection-in-europe.html\">subject to design protection<\/a>)<\/li><li>schemes, rules and methods for performing mental acts, playing games or doing business, and <strong>programs for computers<\/strong><\/li><li>presentations of information<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>But to make it even more complicated, these items are only excluded from patentability if they are claimed \u201c<strong>as such<\/strong>\u201d according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.epo.org\/law-practice\/legal-texts\/html\/epc\/2016\/e\/ar52.html\">Art. 52(3) EPC<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Over the years, however, the Boards of Appeal of the European Patent Office have created a <strong>stable and reliable framework<\/strong> for implementing these complicated legal provisions. The so-called \u201ctwo hurdle\u201d approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:100px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The \u201ctwo hurdle\u201d approach for software patent applications<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Practically speaking, any European software patent has to overcome <strong>two hurdles<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Patent-eligibility<\/strong>: a single technical feature in the patent claim is enough<\/li><li><strong>Inventive step<\/strong>: only the technical features can establish non-obviousness<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>Besides these patentability criteria, there are also requirements on how to disclose and claim the invention. For example, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.epo.org\/law-practice\/legal-texts\/html\/epc\/2016\/e\/ar83.html\">Art. 83 EPC<\/a> states that the  patent application shall disclose the invention in a manner sufficiently clear and complete for it to be carried out by a person skilled in the art (somewhat similar to the \u201cenablement\u201d requirement in the US patent system). <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:100px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Patent-eligibility of software patents: a non-issue<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Unlike in the US, the European Patent Office has made the <strong>patent-eligibility hurdle only a very coarse filter<\/strong>. Its purpose it to filter out those inventions that are purely abstract and conceptual, without any involvement of technology whatsoever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In fact, the only thing needed to overcome the first hurdle is <strong>a single technical feature<\/strong> in the patent claim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Note that the patent-eligibility hurdle is an <strong>absolute hurdle<\/strong>. There is no comparison of the invention with the prior art allowed at this point. As a matter of fact, the (single) technical feature can even be a trivial one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote alignright\"><blockquote><p>A single technical feature makes the invention patent-eligible.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>What does this mean for the different claim categories?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Apparatus claims: <strong>Any apparatus claim which is directed to a physical entity is automatically patent-eligible<\/strong>, since it concerns a technical thing. <\/li><li>Method claims: <strong>Already the wording \u201ccomputer-implemented method\u201d will do the trick.<\/strong> In this case, the method necessarily makes use of a computer (which is a technical thing) and thus the method is patent-eligible.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>As you can see, <strong>the patent-eligibility hurdle is not relevant for software patent applications in practice<\/strong>. This is because any software is executable on a computer and thus it does not harm to include the word \u201ccomputer\u201d in the patent claim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This so-called <strong>\u201cany hardware\u201d approach<\/strong> and the resulting low patent-eligibility hurdle <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bardehle.com\/europeansoftwarepatents\/knowledge-base\/methods-which-use-technical-means-are-patent-eligible\/\">was originally introduced in the landmark decision T 0258\/03 (Auction method\/HITACHI)<\/a> and has been well-established ever since. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But doesn\u2019t this open up the floodgates to all sorts of bogus software patents?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Not at all:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:100px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Inventive step: the decisive test for software patent applications<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>When assessing inventive step, the EPO examiner will compare the invention to the prior art and identify those novel features which distinguish from the closest prior art.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Importantly, from these novel features, <strong>only those that contribute to the solution of a technical problem are taken into account<\/strong> in the non-obvious assessment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In other words, inventive step <strong>cannot be based on a non-technical delta<\/strong> between the invention and the prior art. Instead, it is <strong>only the technical contribution<\/strong> that is looked at.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hence, in a nutshell please remember:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote\"><blockquote><p>European software patents are granted for inventions which provide a <strong>non-obvious <em>technical<\/em> contribution<\/strong> to the prior art.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>As you can see, in the end it really comes down to <strong>what the software actually does<\/strong>. If it performs a purely non-technical task, it cannot be patented at the European Patent Office. If it achieves a technical effect, i.e. solves a technical problem, in a non-obvious manner, it is patentable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This pragmatic approach to software patentability was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bardehle.com\/europeansoftwarepatents\/knowledge-base\/only-technical-features-can-establish-an-inventive-step\/\">originally introduced in the landmark decision T 0641\/00 (Two identities\/COMVIK)<\/a> and has been known since then as the so-called \u201c<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bardehle.com\/europeansoftwarepatents\/knowledgebase\/only-technical-features-can-establish-an-inventive-step\/\">Comvik<\/a> approach<\/strong>\u201c.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:100px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Control questions for a European software patent application<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Here are <strong>three practical control questions<\/strong> for a preliminary assessment of the chances of success of a given software invention at the European Patent Office:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Does the invention <strong>use technical means<\/strong>? <\/li><li>Does the invention <strong>solve a technical problem<\/strong>, i.e. does it bring about a technical effect \/ advantage?<\/li><li>Is the <strong>solution non-obvious<\/strong> in view of the prior art?<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:100px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Who decides what is \u201ctechnical\u201d?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Of course, whether some software-based functionality is \u201ctechnical\u201d or not is easy to answer in extreme cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, embedded control software, e.g. for controlling the brakes of a car based on wheel sensor readings, clearly has a technical effect and thus provides the necessary technical contribution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On the other hand, a software for forecasting stock market developments does not provide a technical contribution apart from being implemented on a computer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>But it gets complicated right in the middle of the spectrum.<\/strong> Here, the only thing that helps is a deep understanding of the case law of the Boards of Appeal of the European Patent Office to figure out how similar previous cases have been decided.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That\u2019s what we want to achieve with the EUROPEAN SOFTWARE PATENT knowledge base. Feel invited to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bardehle.com\/europeansoftwarepatents\/knowledge-base\/\">browse through the knowledge base<\/a> for an <strong>ever-growing collection of examples<\/strong> of specific software inventions that have been found to be either technical or not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:100px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Any questions?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If you have any questions, <a href=\"mailto:bastian.best@bardehle.de\"><strong>contact Bastian directly<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n  \n  \n  <div class=\"\n    mailpoet_form_popup_overlay\n      \"><\/div>\n  <div\n    id=\"mailpoet_form_1\"\n    class=\"\n      mailpoet_form\n      mailpoet_form_shortcode\n      mailpoet_form_position_\n      mailpoet_form_animation_\n    \"\n      >\n\n    <style type=\"text\/css\">\n     #mailpoet_form_1 .mailpoet_form {  }\n#mailpoet_form_1 .mailpoet_paragraph {  }\n#mailpoet_form_1 .mailpoet_segment_label, #mailpoet_form_1 .mailpoet_text_label, #mailpoet_form_1 .mailpoet_textarea_label, #mailpoet_form_1 .mailpoet_select_label, #mailpoet_form_1 .mailpoet_radio_label, #mailpoet_form_1 .mailpoet_checkbox_label, #mailpoet_form_1 .mailpoet_list_label, #mailpoet_form_1 .mailpoet_date_label { display: block; }\n#mailpoet_form_1 .mailpoet_text, #mailpoet_form_1 .mailpoet_textarea, #mailpoet_form_1 .mailpoet_select, #mailpoet_form_1 .mailpoet_date_month, #mailpoet_form_1 .mailpoet_date_day, #mailpoet_form_1 .mailpoet_date_year, #mailpoet_form_1 .mailpoet_date { display: block; }\n#mailpoet_form_1 .mailpoet_text, #mailpoet_form_1 .mailpoet_textarea { width: 200px; }\n#mailpoet_form_1 .mailpoet_checkbox {  }\n#mailpoet_form_1 .mailpoet_submit input {  }\n#mailpoet_form_1 .mailpoet_divider {  }\n#mailpoet_form_1 .mailpoet_message {  }\n#mailpoet_form_1 .mailpoet_validate_success { font-weight: 600; color: #468847; }\n#mailpoet_form_1 .mailpoet_validate_error { color: #b94a48; }\n#mailpoet_form_1 .mailpoet_form_loading { width: 30px; text-align: center; line-height: normal; }\n#mailpoet_form_1 .mailpoet_form_loading > span { width: 5px; height: 5px; background-color: #5b5b5b; }#mailpoet_form_1{border-radius: 0px;text-align: left;}#mailpoet_form_1 form.mailpoet_form {padding: 20px;}#mailpoet_form_1{width: 100%;}#mailpoet_form_1 .mailpoet_message {margin: 0; padding: 0 20px;}#mailpoet_form_1 .mailpoet_paragraph.last {margin-bottom: 0} @media (max-width: 500px) {#mailpoet_form_1 {background-image: none;}} @media (min-width: 500px) {#mailpoet_form_1 .last .mailpoet_paragraph:last-child {margin-bottom: 0}}  @media (max-width: 500px) {#mailpoet_form_1 .mailpoet_form_column:last-child .mailpoet_paragraph:last-child {margin-bottom: 0}} \n    <\/style>\n\n    <form\n      target=\"_self\"\n      method=\"post\"\n      action=\"https:\/\/www.bardehle.com\/europeansoftwarepatents\/wp-admin\/admin-post.php?action=mailpoet_subscription_form\"\n      class=\"mailpoet_form mailpoet_form_form mailpoet_form_shortcode\"\n      novalidate\n      data-delay=\"\"\n      data-exit-intent-enabled=\"\"\n      data-trigger-mode=\"\"\n      data-click-trigger-selector=\"\"\n      data-font-family=\"\"\n      data-cookie-expiration-time=\"\"\n    >\n      <input type=\"hidden\" name=\"data[form_id]\" value=\"1\" \/>\n      <input type=\"hidden\" name=\"token\" value=\"8e7e30c1ca\" \/>\n      <input type=\"hidden\" name=\"api_version\" value=\"v1\" \/>\n      <input type=\"hidden\" name=\"endpoint\" value=\"subscribers\" \/>\n      <input type=\"hidden\" name=\"mailpoet_method\" value=\"subscribe\" \/>\n\n      <label class=\"mailpoet_hp_email_label\" style=\"display: none !important;\">Please leave this field empty<input type=\"email\" name=\"data[email]\"\/><\/label><div class=\"mailpoet_paragraph \" ><h3>Stay in the loop<\/h3><p>Never miss a beat by <b>subscribing to the email newsletter<\/b>. 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