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How to draft the claims in an algorithm patent (with free template)

Many European Patent Attorneys still seem to struggle with getting software patent claims right. Maybe because they are experts in drafting claims for a physical product and the corresponding manufacturing method. But an algorithm needs a different...

The 5 layers of value creation for IoT business models

How come that two companies with the same target use case can have fundamentally different patent portfolio strategies? In this video, Prof. Alexander Wurzer explains a useful layer model to understand how companies can create value in Internet of...

Which countries are most favorable towards digital patents?

There is no global patent, so patents are ultimately subject to national jurisdictions. Different patent offices have different legal provisions and different case law. From my European perspective, I’d say the EPO has a very stable...

How to debunk a bad digital patent attorney

How can I tell whether my outside patent attorney is competent for digital patents? The question came up during a conversation I had the other day with an in-house patent attorney in a large German corporation in the chemical industry. Here are some...

Decentralized Finance Patents in Europe? (DeFi)

Can one patent DeFi in Europe? Well, you can’t patent the idea of providing financial services on public blockchains with smart contracts, because the fact that this enables financial transactions without a central regulatory entity is not a...

Are software patents more difficult after G1/19?

One question I get a lot lately is: “Now that we have G1/19, will it be more difficult to get software patents in Europe?” My answer: Probably yes, at least in the short term. Here’s why.

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Is the European Patent Office fit for AI/ML patents?

Clients ask me all the time why the EPO makes a distinction between innovations in core AI (non-technical) and applied AI (potentially patentable). So I made this video.

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Patents for Explainable AI (XAI) only?

If you wanted to patent the shape of a technical component generated by an AI system, what kind of justification would you need to give for that particular choice of geometry? Do you need to be able to explain why the AI system came to that...