UK High Court rules on patenting inventions involving artificial neural networks and AI

UK High Court rules on patenting inventions involving artificial neural networks and AI

Recently, the UK High Court of Justice handed down a significant decision in the case of Emotional Perception AI Ltd v Comptroller-General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks. The ruling establishes that an invention involving an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) would not be classified as a “computer program”, which is excluded from patent protection under British patent law. ANNs are computer systems that have structures based on neural models of intelligent beings (such as the human brain) and that acquire knowledge through experience.

The invention in focus is a system that offers recommendations of media files, such as music, using an ANN trained through Artificial Intelligence (AI). By considering natural language descriptions and physical properties of files, the ANN makes suggestions based on human perception and emotion, regardless of music genre.

The Supreme Court ruling highlights that an ANN could be implemented in both hardware and software. However, it concludes that an emulated RNA would not qualify as a computer program. The ruling also recognizes that the invention presents an innovation by moving data outside its system. As the judge reporting the case, Sir Anthony Mann, states, the technical effect is in the contribution – being “the provision of better file recommendations through a sophisticated process of learning and operating the ANN”.

Following the understanding, the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) is adjusting its practices, according to a note published in December. With the guidance, patent examiners should no longer bar innovations involving RNAs under the “computer programs” exclusion clause.

Although the decision only takes effect in the UK, it is an important step in the discussion about the patentability of inventions using AI technology. In Brazil, the computer program itself is protected by copyright. The Industrial Property Law, Law 9279/1996, does not consider the computer program itself to be an invention, but a technical solution based on a method or system that makes up the computer program is patentable.

The decision can be accessed via the link: https://assets.caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ewhc/ch/2023/2948/ewhc_ch_2023_2948.pdf

The new UKIPO guidelines can also be consulted at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/examination-of-patent-applications-involving-artificial-neural-networks/examination-of-patent-applications-involving-artificial-neural-networks-ann

Note: For quick release and cost control, this English version is provided by automated translation without human review.