Computer software

The software sector continues to grow rapidly, with developments producing everything from low-level software systems or embedded software, to high-level application software, such as database systems, office applications and educational software.

Many developments in the sector underpin innovations in nearly all areas of technology, such as automotive, medical devices, energy and IoT, amongst others. As such, software plays a major role in research and development across most industries.

Various considerations arise in protecting computer software-based developments, particularly around whether or not the various, differing requirements of European patent law, and the law in other jurisdictions for patenting software, are fulfilled.  Other considerations include the detectability of third-party implementations, a desirability to retain knowledge of the software as a trade secret, and open-source considerations.

HGF’s specialist patent attorneys with experience in the software sector have a broad knowledge base and many clients in this fast-moving, complex field. As such, our team possesses the skills required in identifying patentable computer-implemented inventions and securing strong IP protection for software technologies.

The HGF team draws on its broad understanding of technical processes behind the software and key academic insight to provide in-house patent departments, companies, SMEs and academia involved with software technologies with world-leading IP strategies, delivering our full range of IP services.

Latest updates

Spotting innovation in digital health – and can you patent it?

Intellectual Property (IP) can add significant value to your business, providing a competitive edge over the market, as well as demonstrating sound business planning to help secure investment. There are …

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What is EUDAMED and how will it affect your IP strategy?

The “European database on medical devices”, or “EUDAMED”, is the EU’s IT system created by the new Medical Devices Regulation (MDR) and In Vitro Diagnostics Medical Devices Regulation (IVDR). When …

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Event - 19th April 2023

IAM Live: IP and Emerging Technology Europe 2023

HGF is a gold sponsor of IAM Live: IP and Emerging Technology Europe 2023 on the 19th April in London. The rise of AI is changing the way high-tech innovations …

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EPO Board of Appeal decision indicates approach to Core AI Inventions

Potential obstacles to obtaining patent protection in Europe for an improvement in a general method for machine learning have been highlighted by a recent decision (T0702/20) from the EPO Board …

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From Theoretical Proposals to Commercial Reality: The Rise of Innovation and Patent Filings in Quantum Computing

The possibility of quantum computing was first seriously proposed in the early 1980s and is widely regarded as having enormous potential to deliver a step change in the complexity of …

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Ruff day? Cutting edge tech to keep pets healthy

When asked for an example of innovative health technology, we would typically think of systems designed for human consumers – whether wearable devices, home monitoring systems or telehealth. However, here …

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LiDAR: A Significant Support Technology at CES

When visiting CES’ one thing that struck me was the number of companies demonstrating LiDAR technology. LiDAR has been around since the 1960s and was originally developed for aerospace use, …

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Next big step in home health monitoring goes down the toilet

We are all familiar with the recent surge in popularity of wearable health monitoring devices, empowering users to track a variety of health metrics at home. Smart watches are becoming …

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Let's talk

If you would like to discuss how HGF could help you, contact one of our computer software specialists.