UKPO's response to the inventive step consultation

The UK Patent Office has published its response to last year’s consultation on the inventive step requirement under patent law. It concludes:

*the basic law on inventive step is fine and dandy and shouldn’t be changed. How it is applied in practice is generally OK too;

*there are however some concerns about how it is applied in high technology situations;

*patent examiners’ training will emphasise the need to keep up to date with technology and to refine search skills;

*the Patent Office will encourage people to use s.21 – which allows third party observations on (inter alia) inventive step. Though the provision is already in place, it seems many people don’t know of its existence,

The IPKat reckons this sound like a sensible approach to take into account both sides of the debate. He shares the Patent Office’s disappointment though that, despite the importance of the issue, the consultation only elicited 26 responses.