Section

  • Patenting Artificial Intelligence

    • Recorded event: Artificial intelligence: a patent practitioner’s perspective


      On 12 April 2021 the EPO hosted a virtual conference entitled “Artificial intelligence: a patent practitioner’s perspective”, an event designed to give an opportunity to experienced users to exchange ideas on AI examples from various technical fields. In addition, the conference dealt with the legal aspects of patenting AI, with emphasis on AI in the Guidelines for Examination at the EPO.
      Here you find the complete recording of the plenary sessions and the presentations shown.

    • Recorded lecture: Applications naming machine as inventor

      Heli Pihlajamaa, Director of Patent Law at the European Patent Office, has spoken in a live session on the grounds for the EPO’s decision to refuse two applications designating an AI system as the inventor. Upon questions from the participants, the implications of the developments of AI technologies on patenting were discussed.

    • Recorded event: Patenting Artificial Intelligence

      The conference was the first event held by a major patent office designed to open a discussion on the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the patent system. It provided a unique opportunity for open exchanges of views and for raising awareness of Issues relating to strategies for protecting AI innovations, the challenges in drafting and prosecuting patent applications for AI inventions and possible future considerations for patent laws.

  • New technologies and the patent system

    • Recorded lecture: Videogaming and IP: how to play the game

      Behind every video game, there is an intricate bundle of technical and non-technical IP rights. Against the background of a rapidly evolving design, development and commercialisation landscape, identifying what to protect and how to protect it can be something of a challenge.

      The lecture features Stephan Hanne from the EUIPO's International Cooperation and Legal Affairs Department and Peter Verhoef from the European Patent Office. It is moderated by Alejandro Flores-Jiménez from the European Patent Academy of the EPO and Claire Duranton from the EUIPO Academy.

    • Recorded lecture: Interacting with Devices in the Digital Era: Protecting the IP from the EPO and EUIPO perspectives


      The speed of digital change has brought about a rise in innovative solutions for human-machine interfaces (HMI) and the need to protect them through IP rights. Depending on the nature of the solution, either a patent or a design might be better suited to grant IP protection. In this lecture, EPO and EUIPO experts discuss on whether patents, designs or both may assist you in protecting your innovation. The examples shown by the EPO expert are based on the following decisions: T 1567/05, T 125/04 and T 95/11.

    • Recorded event: Patenting Blockchain


      On 4 December 2018 the EPO hosted as the first major patent office a conference entitled  “Patenting Blockchain”, an event designed to open a discussion around the impact of Blockchain on the patent system. The conference provided a unique opportunity for open exchanges of views and for raising awareness on the technology itself and its many possible fields of application, on how patent offices such as the EPO and CNIPA (China) search and examine the patent applications, the role of open source and possible future considerations for litigation.

  • Patentability of computer-implemented inventions

    • E-Learning module: Patentability of CII at the EPO

      This module examines the patentability requirements, legal basis and other criteria in the field of information technology. In particular, it focuses on patentable and non-patentable subject-matter and on the examination of computer-implemented with respect to the requirements of Art. 52 EPC (exclusion, industrial application, novelty and inventive step). Examples and case law are also provided.

    • Recorded lecture: CII - ensuring information is the key to patentability

      Watch the recorded lecture on computer-implemented inventions, held by Michaël De Smet, team manager, Information and Communication Technology at the EPO The Hague and Igor Dydenko, team manager, Electronics and Mechanics at the EPO Berlin.

    • Recorded lecture: Computer-implemented inventions at the EPO 


      Watch the recorded lecture on assessing the patentability of computer-implemented inventions and specific cases, held by Yasemin Türkeli, examiner in the fields of bioinformatics and administrative, financial and commercial data processing at the EPO.

  • Problem-solution approach

    The problem-solution approach (PSA) was developed to assess the inventiveness requirement of a European patent application. If you want to refresh your knowledge about the PSA, click on the image below:

  • CII in biotech and healthcare

    • Recorded lecture: How to get a patent for computer - implemented inventions in biotechnology and healthcare

       

      Watch the recorded lecture on computer-implemented inventions in biotechnology and healthcare, held by Matthias Hilbig, team manager in the field of Bioinformatics and Medical Informatics at the EPO.

    • Recorded lecture: Presentations of information - which inventions can be patented?

      Watch the recorded lecture on how the EPO examines applications for mixed-type inventions, i.e. those with claims comprising both technical and non-technical features, held by Susanna Lüdemann, examiner at the EPO. The lecture looks specifically at features relating to the presentation of information, which the EPO analyses to determine whether they contribute to a technical effect serving a technical purpose.