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Your say on the patentability of computer programs
The Enlarged Board of Appeal has said that third parties wishing to file written statements concerning pending referral G 3/08 can do so until the end of April. The case, which seeks to clarify questions on the patentability of computer programs, was referred to the Enlarged Board of Appeal by EPO President Alison Brimelow last year.
"It is expected that third parties will wish to use the opportunity to file written statements" the announcement in the January edition of the Official Journal reads.
"To ensure that any such statements can be given due consideration they should be filed together with any new cited documents by the end of April." More details on how to file a statement are available in the Official Journal linked at the bottom of this page.
The referral does not call into question EPC Article 52(2) and (3), which states that programs for computers as such are not to be regarded as inventions and are therefore excluded from patentability. Instead, it seeks guidance on how the details of this exclusion are to be applied.
Further information
- Appeals: Pending referrals
- Patenting issues: Patentability of computer programs
- Law: Official Journal of the EPO 1/2009, 32