In Short
The Situation: Artificial intelligence and
machine learning ("AI/ML") play an increasingly important
role in a number of industries, and those industries are seeking
ways to guard their innovations by means of copyright and trade
secret intellectual property protection.
The Response: The European Patent Office
("EPO") has recognized the growing need to clarify the
rules on how inventions related to, and made by, AI will be
handled, and to determine what patent protection exists for this
rapidly developing technology. The recently updated EPO Guidelines
for Examination, which come into force in November 2018, address
only technical issues.
Looking Ahead: Further questions remain open,
but the EPO is expected to treat AL/ML patent applications
according to established rules for patenting computer-implemented
inventions ("CII").
