UK: Government Publishes Conclusions On Patentability Of Software

On 22 March, the Government published its conclusions on the extent to which computer programs and Internet trading methods should be patentable. This followed consultation with industry and other interested parties on the subject in November 2000. Summaries of the 285 responses received and the Government's conclusions are available on the Patent Office website (www.patent.gov.uk/index.htm).

Responses were, perhaps inevitably, polarised. Some argued that it should be easier to patent software, while others considered that patents represent a threat to the development of new applications. There was, however, widespread agreement with the Government's conclusion that business methods should not be protected by patents.

The Government's principal findings were that: there should be no significant change to the patentability of software, but that the law was not clear enough as to the type of software which was patentable and which was not. This required clarification from the European Commission, which in October 2000 launched a consultation process on the subject (available on its website:

http://europa.eu.int/comm/internal_market/en/intprop/index.htm).
The UK's Patents Act 1977 and the 1973 European Patent Convention exclude computer software "as such" (ie which does not give rise to a "technical effect") and methods of doing business "as such" from patent protection. In the Government's view, patents should still only be available for technological innovations, which benefit consumers. However, the growing importance of e-commerce is calling into question the current regime. In the US, this question is being answered by a growing trend towards the grant of patents for software and non-technical business methods.