Abstract:
Patentability of computer-implemented inventions can be highly contentious. This is so in the US despite its courts treading carefully to develop this area of patent law and cautioning, in Alice Corp Pty Ltd v CLS Bank International 134 S Ct 2347 (2014), that otherwise it could “swallow all of patent law”. The court scene on computer program patentability in Singapore is much more muted, and important legal questions relating to the subject matters of exclusion and the exclusion test await a clear answer. This article examines the legal developments in subject-matter patentability of computer-implemented inventions, particularly in the US, the UK and the European Patent Office, for insights that may provide an answer.