The EPO search documentation in the face of software related inventions

Abstract

Software related inventions being not simply excluded from patenting — as confirmed by the recent amendments of the EPO Guidelines — the question arises whether DG1 should adapt its search documentation in order to enable such inventions to be properly searched. As a matter of fact, the question concerns only the non-patent literature (NPL), mostly articles from journals and conference proceedings, because these documents are only selectively classified for inclusion in the search documentation — whereas patent documents are all systematically classified and included — and besides, software matters are rarely dealt with in the present patent literature. In view of the foregoing, the paper illustrates the importance of non-patent literature for search purposes and considers the selection criteria for articles and for the collection of technical journals.