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The UK Supreme Court just dropped a bombshell judgment that changes things for AI and software patents in the UK. In Emotional Perception AI Ltd, the Court tore up the rulebook…
United Kingdom
Intellectual Property
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The UK Supreme Court just dropped a bombshell judgment that
changes things for AI and software patents in the UK.
In Emotional Perception AI Ltd, the Court tore up the
rulebook, scrapping the restrictive Aerotel test
and finally aligning the UK with Europe.
Now, if your claim
involves any hardware (a computer, a
server, a database) you now clear the first hurdle. The
“computer program as such” exclusion that killed
countless applicationsis effectively gone for hardware-based
claims.
But it’s not a free pass, the battleground has just
shifted. We now face a new ‘intermediate step’ where
you must prove your use of AI solves a technical problem. What this
will look like going forward is still TBC.
Practical points that you can use for your portfolios right
now:
Extensions – examiners should look
favourably on all extension requests – including both
examination response deadlines and compliance periods
Re-examination – applications currently
undergoing examination, recently examined, and
potentially even recently refused cases
will likely be suitable for re-examination under the new
framework
Administrative procedure – it is
currently unclear whether the UKIPO will perform re-examinations
automatically but, to be on the safe side, we recommend proactively
requesting them
Timeline – we should expect big delays.
It’s possible that the UKIPO will prioritize pushing
Emotional Perception through the examination before re-assessing
other cases
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