A Guide To Patenting Food Technology Inventions – Part 1

Food technology is an increasingly important field of technology, within which we are seeing a rise in patenting activity.

This is the first of two articles in which we consider the field in general, the types of inventions that can be patented, and some patent and opposition trends. We will then move on to consider some recent European Patent Office (EPO) case law, and how this affects the developing patent practice in this area.

The growth of food technology patent applications

The increasing importance of food technology is demonstrated by the number of published European patent applications that mention International Patent Classification (IPC) A23. This classification covers food and foodstuffs and their treatment. In 2013, the number of published European patent applications in class A23 was 1,524, but by 2023, this had risen to 2,360. This is an increase of over 50% in the last ten years.