The UK Supreme Court has granted Emotional Perception AI permission to appeal a decision of the UK Court of Appeal in what represents a seminal moment for AI innovation in the UK.
The case concerns Emotional Perception AI’s patent application relating to artificial neural network (ANN) technology for media file recommendations. The UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) refused the patent application on the grounds of the computer program exclusion. The High Court then overturned this decision ruling that features implemented using an ANN must be treated as more than simply a computer program (as reported in our earlier article).
For a period the High Court’s decision shifted the landscape for patenting AI-based technology. As a result of the Court’s ruling, the UKIPO made changes to its guidance to allow patents for a greater range of AI technology in the UK.
However, the Court of Appeal subsequently overturned the High Court’s decision and provided an endorsement of the approach that had previously been used by the UKIPO (as reported here). Following the Court of Appeal judgement, the UKIPO once again issued updated guidance clarifying that ANN-implemented inventions are to be treated the same as any other computer-implemented invention. This was seen as a set-back by many companies looking to protect the latest wave of AI innovation.
In a new development, the UK Supreme Court has granted Emotional Perception AI permission to appeal the decision. The Supreme Court will now have the opportunity to address the issue of inventions using ANNs and whether or not these inventions should be open to patent protection above and beyond other types of software.
The fact that permission has been granted is significant and indicates that there are likely to be further outcomes and guidance for how AI inventions are to be assessed in the UK, with the potential for allowing patent protection for a broader range of AI inventions in the UK.
