Understanding Patent Applications and Methods for Best Approaches in Europe and the U.S.
Recently, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) released proposed guidelines addressing the complex issue of AI inventorship. The PTO is not the only agency attempting to tackle this issue; jurisdictions...more
The rapid increase in innovation and popularity surrounding AI, its capabilities and seemingly endless applications has created a technological revolution, the magnitude of which hasn’t been seen for decades. This has led to...more
On 20 December 2023, the UK Supreme Court unanimously held that UK patent legislation does not permit an AI system to be named as the "inventor" in a patent application. In doing so, the UK Supreme Court reaffirmed earlier...more
Patents are increasingly being used to protect innovation in the food technology space. Food technology companies should carefully decide whether to use patents or trade secrets to protect their proprietary assets. ...more
On October 10, 2023, the Enlarged Board of Appeal of the European Patent Office (EPO) issued a groundbreaking decision that reflects a major change in how formal priority is assessed at the EPO during examination and in...more
From creative endeavors like art and music to practical applications like translation and weather forecasting, artificial intelligence (AI) is producing more and more content and being used by inventors. Given the nuances in...more
Patent offices and courts around the world have recently been grappling with the question of whether an AI system can be the inventor of a patent. This has been prompted by Dr. Stephen Thaler’s applications to designate his...more
It is well known that in the U.S., abstract ideas, laws of nature, natural phenomena, and products of nature are all excluded from patenting under 35 U.S.C. § 101. This article briefly outlines various U.S. approaches to...more
The European Patent Office (EPO) published its decision to the highly anticipated G 0001/19 on March 10, 2021. It was the first time the EPO has held a hearing via videoconference and only the second hearing relating to...more
Intellectual Property counsel often face the dilemma of when to file a patent application: as soon as possible, or wait and gather more support? Filing an application “early” helps to avoid anticipatory prior art but if the...more
In the patent grant proceedings for two European Patent Applications, the EPO has ruled that an AI machine cannot be named as an inventor in a Patent Application. Doing so does not comply with the requirement to designate the...more
At a symposium and webinar presented by Fenwick & West and Mewburn Ellis, we asked U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and European Patent Office examiners to provide perspective on the preparation and prosecution of patent...more
According to a recent survey of over 100 companies and universities, nearly 93% who filed patent families in 2013 filed at least some of those patent families internationally. While obtaining patent protection abroad is...more