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European Patent Office grants software patents

This article lists examples of software patents granted by the European Patent Office (EPO) in spite of their repeated public claims of not granting software patents. You will also find links on this page to other collections of examples. You can find more using the instructions at Searching_for_patents#European_Patent_Office.

The EPO's public denial

Here's an example of a public statement from the EPO. This is from 2009:

The EPO does not grant "software patents". The term itself is a misleading concept. Under the EPC a computer program claimed as such is not a patentable invention (Art. 52(2)(c) and (3) EPC). Inventions involving computer programs that implement business, mathematical or similar methods and do not produce technical effects (e. g. because they solve a business problem rather than a technical one) are not patentable, and no patents will be granted for such inventions in Europe.[1]

Examples of granted software patents

Related pages on ESP Wiki

External links

References