UK Supreme Court rules artificial neural networks patentable

On Feb 11 the UK Supreme Court ruled that an artificial neural network can be patented and returned the application to the UK Intellectual Property Office for reconsideration.

Emotional Perception AI applied for a patent for an artificial neural network that recommends media files and can produce files to evoke similar emotional responses. The UK Intellectual Property Office refused the application in 2022. The Supreme Court ruled that a computer program can be patented if it involves use of physical hardware and found that an artificial neural network operates on hardware and could in principle be patentable. The court returned the case to the UK Intellectual Property Office to decide whether to grant the patent.