Many inventions in the field of biotechnology require the use of a computer. The invention may, for example relate to a new way of handling or processing data so as to provide a more accurate diagnosis or genotype. Whether such an invention is seen to provide a "technical effect" which would render it patentable, or whether the invention instead is considered to relate to excluded subject-matter are issues which lie at the heart of the prosecution of many cases in this area.
In this article, Avidity IP Senior Attorney Dr Marc Wilkinson reviews a number of recent UK decisions and critiques the current approach to the analysis of patentability in this commercially important field.
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This paper was originally published in Biotechnology Law Report, February 2014, 33(1): 27-42.
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