Can weather warnings be patented?

Yesterday I checked the Met Office website for weather warnings in Cambridgeshire to see a bubble of amber covering most of the county. This morning, a red warning had been issued with a surprisingly precise boundary between red and amber zones lying between Saffron Walden and Cambridge. On checking again this afternoon, I noticed that the edge of the red warning zone had moved ever so slightly closer to us in the Marks & Clerk Cambridge office. Can prediction of weather warnings and weather forecasting technologies more generally be patented?

There are two ways in which weather forecasting technologies might fall foul of UK and European law on patentability. Firstly, weather predictions rely on complex algorithms and mathematical methods and therefore are governed by the UK patents act section 1(2) which states that a invention consisting solely of "a discovery, scientific theory or mathematical method" shall not be patentable. This was reinforced by the EPO board of appeal decision T 2331/10  in which providing an improved forecast was considered to be "per se is an intellectual activity" and therefore not technical in nature. 

Secondly, UK and European law excludes any inventions relating to "the presentation of information" as such from patentability. Therefore, an invention which related, for example, to the conversion of abstract weather forecast data into weather alerts and warnings would likely be considered not technical in nature. 

There are however many aspects of weather prediction which can be, with careful drafting, protected by a patent, and many existing patents relating to weather prediction. It is also possible to seek protection in countries with different laws on patentability. The United States, for example, does not exclude computer programs as such from patentability and as a result the USPTO sees far more patents relating to weather forecasting than the EPO. 

For other relevant board of appeal decisions see T 0956/17  and T 1798/13.

Dangerous weather is expected. A risk to life is likely, with widespread damage, uprooted trees, travel and power disruption. Take action now and avoid travelling where possible.

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