European Software Patentability: Zooming Back In

We've taken you on a journey through the history of software patents in Europe, through the lens of pop culture. In Part I taking place in 1977, we saw a scene of gloom set in which the likelihood of software patents being granted at the EPO looked close to impossible. However, over a period of more than 40 years since then, the EPO's Board of Appeal has a shown that a different reality exists today.

Part XII: Zooming back in

Now we have zoomed out over this period spanning 1977 through to 2021 taking in Britney, Becks and Bieber along the way, I think we have that Stoic perspective on software patentability in Europe. Now we understand the big picture, we understand not just what the law is, but importantly why it is what it is. We understand how we have reached where we are today.