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Michael O'Connor, Cruickshank Intellectual Property Attorneys |
- Software patentable in
Europe, Irish expert tells US conference
- More than 250 companies &
universities, including Yahoo!, Microsoft, MIT, UC Berkeley and Stanford, in
attendance at AUTM
- Companies must use
European patent attorneys to protect software innovations
- Cruickshank also offering
free 'IP-Free60' patent consultation to Irish software companies
Cruickshank, Ireland's principal firm of patent
and trade mark attorneys, has launched an ambitious plan to target US software
developers. Michael O'Connor, Patent Attorney at Cruickshank Intellectual
Property Attorneys, has told delegates at the Association of University
Technology Managers (AUTM) Annual Meeting in San Diego that, contrary to popular
belief, software is patentable in Europe.
Michael O'Connor is a leading expert on European software patents, and explained
to his audience, which comprised technology transfer and intellectual property
experts from a range of companies and
universities, including Yahoo!, Microsoft, MIT, UC Berkeley and Stanford, why
software patent applications fail in Europe, and what needs to be done to
resolve the problems. Cruickshank representatives
will also be meeting with a range of US technology and software companies over
the coming months as part of a drive to educate them about European software
patents.
The AUTM represents technology transfer and innovation experts in more than 350
universities, research institutions, teaching hospitals and government agencies
as well as hundreds of companies involved with managing and licensing
innovations.
The European Patent Office currently grants
approximately 56% of all patents applied for. However, the grant rate drops to
just 20% of software patent applications. Requirements for European software
patents are much more stringent than those applying in the USA.
Michael O'Connor, Patent Attorney at Cruickshank
Intellectual Property Attorneys, said "It's
a myth that software is not patentable in Europe. In fact, the European Patent
Office (EPO) issues software patents regularly. Confusion arises because of
differences in the European requirements for software patent applications
compared to those in the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
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Data on Irish Related Patents |
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The most recent
figures relate to 2006, but are as follows:
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Patents applied
for in 2006 at the Irish Patent Office: 935
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Patents applied
for in 2006 at the Irish Patent Office by persons giving
their country of origin as Ireland: 838
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Patents issued
in 2006 by the Irish Patent Office: 357 (note that it
normally takes more than one year to issue a patent, so
those numbers aren't necessarily correlatable)
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Patents issued
in 2006 by the Irish Patent Office by persons giving their
country of origin as Ireland: 286
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Applications
filed at the European Patent Office designating Ireland as
their country in 2006: 123,912
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Patents issued
in 2006 by the European Patent Office designating Ireland as
their country: 33,895
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Patents in force
at the Irish Patent Office on 31st December 2006: 68,298
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