Software

In Europe, software is patentable if it provides an inventive technical contribution to the state of the art. Over the past decades, the Boards of Appeal at the EPO have developed relatively stable case law on software patenting. These holdings have also been adopted by many national offices, allowing for reliable prediction regarding patent eligibility across Europe.

Experts at Grünecker have been involved in this particular legal field and have been providing legal advice to market-leading corporations for decades. In-depth knowledge of the relevant case law applied by the European Patent Office and the courts forms the basis for our counselling. We also pride ourselves on a deep understanding of the underlying technologies such as system software, application software, databases, encryption, blockchain, user interfaces, cloud computing, and others.

More than in any other field, adequate patent protection for software inventions depends on the appropriate abstraction and description of inventive principles, in particular, in the patent’s claim language. Having successfully prosecuted thousands of software-related applications, Grünecker is well-positioned to protect your intellectual property at the EPO and the national patent offices, and to represent you successfully before European infringement courts.