Patentability of AI and computer inventions in the UK

Published September 2026

Patentability of AI and computer inventions in the UK

In February 2026, the UK Supreme Court in Emotional perception overturned the leading case law on assessing the patent eligibility of inventions. The court provided some guidance on how to assess whether inventions fall into the subject matter exclusions, but stopped short of explicitly setting out the full test. Instead they sent the case back to the UK IPO, who have now issued a practice note. In this episode, we discuss the background of this practice note and how it might impact patent applications going forward.

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