In 2024, the Ministry of Economic Development expanded the possibilities for patenting IT solutions. We will talk about the main innovations in this article.

A common tool for protecting rights to a computer program is copyright. Copyright has the disadvantage that it applies to the form, not the content, of a work (i.e., copyright protects not what is written, but how it is written). This means that copyright generally extends to the program code, but not to the algorithm itself.

The legal regime of inventions or utility models is suitable for the protection of algorithms, i.e. objects of patent rights. However, paragraph 5 of Art. 1350 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation establishes a ban on the issuance of a patent for a computer program as such. Previously, Rospatent refused to issue a patent when trying to patent an algorithm, referring specifically to this norm.

The practice of Rospatent followed the path of a gradual softening of the approach to the assessment of IT solutions. Order No. 148 of the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation dated March 15, 2024 confirmed this trend, formally expanding the possibilities for patenting IT solutions (including algorithms) as a patent for an invention.

What can you patent now?

First, it is possible to obtain a patent for a technical solution that consists of semantic processing of text in natural language.

The target audience of the novel is inventors who create innovations in the field of interaction of information technologies with texts. This change creates scope for patenting algorithms for programs designed to translate or otherwise process natural language text, as well as devices with a recorded program. For example, it became possible to obtain a patent for a method for recognizing hieroglyphs or for a device for recognizing hieroglyphs.

Second, a patent may be issued for a computer-readable medium containing a program or data for the operation of a computer.

Typically, machine-readable media are not positioned as independent inventions or utility models, but are included in a complex (system) intended for general-purpose implementation. For example, in a system for recognizing people's faces and emotions, the computer-readable medium may contain the program or data necessary to perform the recognition.

Thirdly, a technical solution designed to obtain physical, chemical or biological data about a specific material object or a process occurring with this object is patentable. Moreover, these data can be probabilistic.

This rule is of great interest for mining and medicine.

Quite often, when conducting geological exploration, artificial intelligence is used, which, by processing the physical parameters of earth layers, creates an accurate three-dimensional model of deposits. Algorithms for the functioning of such artificial intelligence can be patented under this standard.

Similarly, similar algorithms used in medicine can be patented. For example, artificial intelligence is capable of quickly processing large amounts of data. This quality of artificial intelligence determines the great potential of its use for diagnostics (including self-diagnosis).

The adopted changes provide wide scope for patenting IT solutions. Moreover, in the near future we can expect an even greater expansion of the list of IT solutions for which patents will be issued. As reported on the official Rospatent website, Rospatent, together with the Russian Center for the Circulation of Rights to the Results of Creative Activity, will prepare appropriate amendments to the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

Milyukov Sergey

Source: RBC