EPO Enlarged Board: computer simulations can be patented

Managing IP is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 4 Bouverie Street, London, EC4Y 8AX

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2025

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

EPO Enlarged Board: computer simulations can be patented

epo-600-comp.jpg

Case G1/19, before the Enlarged Board of Appeal, attracted a flurry of interest from patent owners and industry associations

The EPO’s Enlarged Board of Appeal has handed down an eagerly awaited decision that the established case law on computer-implemented inventions also applies to simulations.

In a decision published today, March 10, the EBoA found that just like any other computer-implemented invention, numerical simulations may be patentable.

According to the EBoA, patentability requires an inventive step based on features contributing to the technical character of the claimed simulation method.

In advance of today’s decision, in-house counsel told Managing IP that a decision to make simulation non-patentable could have had broader repercussions on patenting computer-implemented inventions.

It would have also damaged European industries that either create simulations or increasingly rely on software to test physical processes and methods before they are implemented, counsel added.

The case concerns a patent application (03793825.5) by an individual called James Douglas Connor.

The invention concerns simulation of pedestrian movement that can then be used to help design or modify venues such as a railway station or a stadium. The patent claims to provide a realistic simulation, in real-world situations, which cannot be modelled by conventional simulators.

In February 2019, the EPO rejected the application. After the refusal, the applicant appealed to the EPO’s Technical Board of Appeal, which referred questions to the EBoA.

More than 20 amicus curiae were filed with the EBoA from companies including IBM, Siemens and Philips, as well as from industry associations including AIPPI, the IP Federation and the European Patent Institute.

Managing IP will provide a full analysis of the decision in due course.

 

more from across site and ros bottom lb

More from across our site

Awards
Submit your nominations for this year's WIBL Americas Awards by February 28
Awards
Research for the annual Women in Business Law Awards has begun – submit your entries by February 28
Sources at four firms tell Managing IP whether COVID-induced policies such as remote working have helped save money and outline the effect on their practices
Exclusive data and analysis show that in-house counsel aren’t always up to speed with law firms’ sustainability practices, which can make it hard to say how satisfied they are
Goodwin’s latest PTAB hire, Theodoros Konstantakopoulos, said he was keen to work with Lori Gordon, who joined the firm last year
Senior partners at both firms said they want to capitalise on the benefits of having attorneys and lawyers working in tandem
IP litigation lawyers at European firms reveal how they are managing clients’ demands for a streamlined service by collaborating with other functions and practice areas
An injunction concerning head lice treatment, a positive ruling on access to documents, a German firm splitting, and moves involving Finnegan and Morgan Lewis were among the top stories
Chris Sleep, Abion’s new head of litigation and dispute management, will work in the firm’s London office
Sources at four firms explain how changes to USPTO fees provide opportunities to give clients strategic counselling
Gift this article