Can simulations and predictive methods be patented? What do It needs to consider when drafting patent applications for predictive methods? When are predictions, considered to be “technical” as well as inventive under the European Patent Law?
Two applications, directed to the prediction of failures in technical components, have recently provided some much needed clarity on these questions. Initially rejected for lack of technical character, the landmark decision G1/19 of the Enlarged Board of Appeal at the EPO provided a direction in how to address the technicality of these applications. The present decisions of the technical boards of appeal T01557_20 and T0182_20 further refined this decision and clarified how to apply it to predictive methods.
The G1/19 decision established the “COMVIK” approach as the standard method in the assessment of computer-implemented methods, including computer-implemented simulations. It clarified that computer simulations can be deemed technical and inventive if they effectively solve a specific technical problem in a non-obvious manner.
T01557_20 and T0182_20:
Specific measurements and their use in predicting technical real-world outcomes are now recognized as having a technical character.
The mathematical methods used in these processes can also contribute to the technical character, as long as they apply to specific physical entities.
The two cases have been remitted for further examination and now meet the patentability criteria under European law. These decisions highlight how legal developments impact the patentability of innovations involving simulations and predictive methods.
Read the full article here: The technicality of making predictions PDF
