From mattias.lundstrom@digitalroute.com  Thu Nov  8 10:05:30 2001
From: mattias.lundstrom@digitalroute.com (Mattias =?ISO-8859-1?Q?Lundstr=F6m?=)
Date: Thu, 08 Nov 2001 11:05:30 +0100
Subject: [Patents] Alert: Software Patents in Europe: Juridical Coup at the EPO
References: <20011108005251.54B5614A33@stabilite.aful.org>
Message-ID: <3BEA58EA.9090101@digitalroute.com>

Seth Johnson wrote:

...

> [2] New EPO examination rules for software - 
> http://www.epo.co.at/legal/ gui_lines/f/c_iv_2.htm
...


Slightly broken link, but works without the space.
For an english version see
http://www.european-patent-office.org/legal/gui_lines/e/c_iv_2.htm


Critical extract from the new EPO guidelines:

> In the practice of examining computer-implemented inventions, however,

> it may be more appropriate for the examiner to proceed directly to the 

> questions of novelty and inventive step, without considering beforehand 

> the question of technical character. In assessing whether there is an 

> inventive step, the examiner must establish an objective technical 

> problem which has been overcome (see IV, 9.5). The solution of that problem 

> constitutes the invention's technical contribution to the art. The presence 

> of such a technical contribution establishes that the claimed subject-matter 

> has a technical character and therefore is indeed an invention within the 

> meaning of Art. 52(1).


The EPO has finally gone all the way towards completely ignoring the
software exception in 52.2c.




