Emotional Perception’s High Court win is a glimmer of hope for AI-related inventions
The decision in Emotional Perception AI v Comptroller General of Patents has—nationally and internationally—raised some eyebrows.
In its judgement of November 21, the England and Wales High Court found that the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) had erred in finding an AI-implemented invention—submitted by UK software company Emotional Perception Ai—as being excluded from patentability.
This decision, in particular, gives rise to questions concerning the statutory exclusions to patentability under section 1(2) of the UK Patents Act—including what amounts to a computer program “as such”.
The judgment is of potential importance to the assessment of technical contribution, and at least of seminal importance to the acquisition of patent rights in the field of AI.
The implications from this decision [at 76] suggest that the UKIPO’s previous approach to assessing technical contribution was too restrictive.
Plus, computer-implemented inventions (CIIs) in other technology fields could now also benefit from a loosening of the former over-reaching regime.
Legal considerations
Legally, there are several issues to consider in the shorter and longer terms. These include:
