Exclusions from Patentability – How far has the European Patent Office eroded boundaries?

This book provides a comprehensive review of the history of the adoption of exclusions from patentability under the dominant European patent law, the European Patent Convention, since its first conception in 1949 through to its most recent revision. It shows how other intellectual property treaties, such as UPOV, the Strasbourg Patent Convention, PCT, the EU Biotech Directive and TRIPS, affected the framing of those exclusions. The book then addresses the individual exclusions, focussing on the subject-matter areas that have been most contentious - computer programs, discoveries, medical treatments, life forms, and agriculture - and most influential in shaping the approaches by which the exclusions have been interpreted. The 'morality' exclusion, which is particularly controversial, is discussed at length. The approaches to the interpretation of the exclusions are discussed critically and suggestions for coherent interpretation are made.