Patenting Human Gesture Recognition

The EPO has previously considered the patentability of human gesture recognition. Two previous decisions of an EPO Technical Board of Appeal have recognised that recognition of human gestures, e.g. as a method of computer input, is technical. The Board overturned refusal of two European patent applications relating to the recognition of specific sequences of human gestures using a computer touch pad. In these refusals, the Examining Division had asserted that human gestures are inherently non-technical as a matter of policy and cannot therefore contribute to inventive step.

The Board of Appeal decisions in both cases concurred with our submissions that the nature of the gestures to be recognised can be relevant to inventive step and that it would not in fact have been obvious to reconfigure any of the prior art touch devices to recognise the specific gestures defined in the claims.