Practical Implications Of The New CII Guidelines For Applicants

The UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) released new guidance last week on how computer-implemented inventions such as AI are examined.

The UKIPO previously took a strict stance, refusing to search some claim sets if they were deemed to solely relate to computer programs.

The new guidelines bring good news for applicants:

• The new approach should relax the UKIPO’s stance on excluded subject matter, making it better align with the European Patent Office’s practice.
• For patent applications currently in examination, applicants can request that excluded subject matter objections raised under the Aerotel approach be re-examined under the new approach - hurrah!
• There is plenty of room for interpretation as to how the new guidelines should be applied, and this will give applicants room to manoeuvre as the new approach is tested.