Artificial Intelligence Patent? EPO Gives The Green Light!

Can inventions based on artificial intelligence be patented? Until recently, there were no clearly defined rules for applying for protection of solutions related to artificial intelligence and machine learning based on computational models and algorithms. Indeed, the provisions of the Polish Industrial Property Law Act (as of December 2018, Article 28 (5)) still do not allow protection for such solutions; however, on 1 November 2018 the European Patent Office (EPO) took up the challenge and introduced some guidelines in this area.

The new EPO regulations allow for the possibility of obtaining a patent for such solutions, but in order to qualify strict conditions must be met. First of all, the solutions must be classified as mathematical methods and therefore cannot constitute a stand-alone solution as such. Second, according to the EPO's guidelines, the solutions must be of a technical nature, i.e. they must use technical means such as a computer or other device.