Computer programs – the Law in Europe

October 2, 2008
Intellectual Property News and Interesting Facts

The European Patent Office has issued guidelines that state that if a computer program has a technical character, then it is not excluded from patentability. However, a data-processing operation controlled by a computer program can equally, in theory, be implemented by means of special circuits, and the execution of a program always involves physical effects, e.g. electrical currents. Such normal physical effects are not in themselves sufficient to lend a computer program technical character and to render it patentable. However, if a computer program is capable of bringing about a technical effect going beyond these normal physical effects, it is not excluded from patentability, irrespective of whether it is claimed by itself or as a record on a recording medium or “carrier”.