Inclusion of Computer-Related Inventions under Patents Act

Source: Madras High Court 

Why in News? 

The bench of Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy in the case of Ab Initio Technology LLC v. The Controller of Patents & Designs (2025) allowed an appeal against the Patent Office's refusal, holding that computer-related inventions demonstrating technical contribution are not excluded under Section 3(k) of the Patents Act, 1970.  

What was the Background of Ab Initio Technology LLC v. The Controller of Patents & Designs (2025) Case? 

• The appeal was filed by Ab Initio Technology LLC, a US-based company, challenging the Patent Office's refusal of their patent application. 
• In July 2010, Ab Initio filed a patent application for an invention titled "Graphic Representations of Data Relationship". 
• The Patent Office issued an examination report raising objections including lack of novelty and inventive step under Section 2(1)(j). 
• Additional objections were raised regarding non-patentability under Section 3(k) of the Patents Act. 
• Section 2(1)(j) requires that an invention must be new, must involve an inventive step that is not obvious to a skilled person, and must be capable of industrial use. 
• Section 3(k) excludes mathematical methods, business methods, computer programmes per se and algorithms from being patentable inventions. 
• After hearings and amendments to the application, the Patent Office ultimately refused the application in July 2020. 
• The refusal was based on grounds that the claimed method lacked any inventive step and amounted to a computer programme per se. 
• The appellant argued that the invention focused on data lineage and incorporated features not disclosed in prior art cited by the Patent Office. 
• The Patent Office maintained that the claims were implemented by computer software and constituted an algorithm or computer programme per se. 
• On November 4, 2025, the Madras High Court set aside the Patent Office's refusal order and allowed the appeal. 

What were the Court's Observations? 

• The Court analyzed the material and noted that the prior art did not contain all the important features found in Ab Initio's invention. 
• The Court observed that the invention uses a specific method to track how data moves from one point to another. 
• The bench found that a person skilled in the art would not arrive at this method just by looking at prior art. 
• The Court ruled that the invention is new and involves an inventive step as required under Section 2(1)(j). 
• Regarding Section 3(k) objections, the Court observed that under Indian patent law, a computer-related invention is not automatically rejected. 
• The Court held that if the invention offers a real technical improvement or produces a technical effect, it can still be patented even if it uses algorithms or computer programs. 
• The Court found that the invention improved how quickly data queries are answered, giving the invention a clear technical character. 
• The Court concluded that "under Indian law, patent applications in relation to a CRI, even de hors novel hardware or impact on the internal working thereof, would not be excluded under Section 3(k) if such CRI makes a technical contribution or has a technical effect." 
• The Court ruled that the invention was not barred by Section 3(k) of the Patents Act. 1970. 

What is a Patent? 

About:

• A patent is a form of preservation of intellectual property. It is an exclusive right granted for an invention, which is a product or a process that provides, in general, a new way of doing something, or offers a new technical solution to a problem. 
• To get a patent, technical information about the invention must be disclosed to the public in a patent application.

Patentability Criteria for an Invention:

• It should be novel. 
• Must involve an inventive step (technical advancement). 
• Capable of industrial application.

Term of Patent:

• The term of every patent in India is twenty years from the date of filing the patent application, irrespective of whether it is filed with provisional or complete specification.

What is the Patents Act, 1970?

• This principal law for patenting system in India came into force in the year 1972. It replaced the Indian Patents and Designs Act 1911.
  
• The Act was amended by the Patents (Amendment) Act, 2005, wherein product patent was extended to all fields of technology including food, drugs, chemicals and microorganisms. 
• After the amendment, the provisions relating to Exclusive Marketing Rights (EMRs) have been repealed, and a provision for enabling grant of compulsory license has been introduced 
• The provisions relating to pre-grant and post-grant opposition have also been introduced.