Does The Automation Of A Method Involve An Inventive Step?

Recently, the Mexican Examiners have faced several controversial issues regarding how to determine the patentability of "new" technologies. In particular, they are considering the best strategies to evaluate the patentability criteria for computer implemented inventions which, in most of the cases, are related to the automation of well known methods.

In this sense, the most common rejections issued by the Mexican Institute of the Industrial Property (MIIP) to such type of inventions, make reference firstly, to a lack of technical problem disclosed into the specification of the invention, when the pursued matter falls into the prohibitions of Article 19 of the Industrial Property Law (IPL), and secondly, to a lack of inventive step.