Legal Protection for Computer-Implemented Inventions

As a result of the incorporation of computer software into countless commercial and industrial products, the patentability of software and inventions in the area of Artificial Intelligence has become a vital issue in intellectual property law. This indispensable book provides an overview of the current status of computer-implemented inventions in patent law in major jurisdictions worldwide and in Europe. A hugely practical field research tool with guidance based on case law, it examines the major hurdles in each particular country and describes the best practice to be adopted.

The legal situation in the key countries is summarized based on a list of twenty-seven law-related questions, providing a condensed overview. Clearly showing how enforceable software patent applications can be competitively drafted and how a patent portfolio for computer-implemented inventions can be established in several countries without spending money unnecessarily on problematic examination proceedings, this book covers such issues and topics as the following:

• important case law, in particular before the European Patent Office (EPO) for technicality issues;
• sufficient level of abstraction versus breadth of the claimed invention;
• how to overcome typical objections in the respective national examination proceedings;
• best practice examples; and
• case studies comparing different national peculiarities in the area of computing.

With separate chapters for the EPO and the key countries, Germany, the United States, China, Korea, Japan, and India, the legal situation for software-related inventions in each country or region, this book includes guidance on prosecution under national law, analyses of relevant court decisions, practice checklists, and an outlook on future developments. The authors describe claim formulation based on actual cases and on principles of computer science in order to show what might or might not be patentable in each jurisdiction.

With this incomparable resource, patent attorneys and patent professionals in companies will get a basis for making decisions about the most appropriate jurisdictions in which to file patent applications. This book will also be of great value to computer professionals who are affected by the protection of software or who are actively involved in the protection of software by patent law.