Marks & Clerk is proud to highlight recent coverage in World IP Review featuring Matt Jefferies and Eric McNeil. They examine the UK Intellectual Property Office’s (UKIPO) landmark shift toward European Patent Office (EPO) standards for AI and "mixed inventions" following the Emotional Perception AI Supreme Court ruling. This pivot introduces an "intermediate step" where any claim involving hardware is deemed eligible, shifting the core patentability hurdle to whether specific features contribute to a "technical character" during the inventive step assessment.
For innovators, this change offers significant strategic advantages, as the UKIPO’s commitment to performing searches at this stage allows applicants to better evaluate their global filing strategies before critical priority deadlines. Furthermore, the UKIPO's increased reliance on EPO Guidelines suggests that European case law will now carry greater weight in UK patent prosecution. We invite you to read Matt and Eric’s full analysis on the World IP Review website to understand how these evolving standards impact the protection of your AI technology.