Significant cases

Re Symbian’s Patent

The Court of Appeal extensively reviewed the UK and EPO decisions concerning patentability, concluding that the EPO approach was not sufficiently settled for the English courts to follow that line of authority.

The Court therefore endorsed the four stage Aerotel approach.  The Court gave some guidance as to the meaning of ‘technical’.  In so doing it made clear that an invention that was exclusively in software could nonetheless have a relevant technical effect if it in effect resulted in a better computer.