Computer-Implemented Invention (CII)

A Computer-Implemented Invention (CII) involves the use of a computer or a network, with at least one feature implemented by means of a computer program.

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Patent law generally excludes software as such from patentability, in the same way as pure mathematical methods. A CII escapes this exclusion, however, as soon as it provides a technical solution to a technical problem, a criterion applied convergently by the European Patent Office, the US USPTO, and China's CNIPA.

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The line between a mere algorithm, unpatentable, and a patentable technical solution often hinges on how the patent application is drafted: the same data-processing method can be rejected if presented as an abstract mathematical method, and accepted if presented as solving a concrete technical problem, such as optimising the memory consumption of an embedded system. This drafting sensitivity justifies running a Freedom to Operate (FTO) analysis analysis alongside any filing.

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For a software startup seeking to protect its innovations, separating what amounts to a mere algorithm, not patentable as such, from what constitutes a genuine patentable technical solution is a strategic question to settle upfront, before any filing or any financial due diligence of intellectual property conducted by a future investor, a topic extended in our article on patent valuation.