While Europe is waiting for a decision in the case G3/08 before the Enlarged Board of Appeal of the EPO and the US is waiting for a decision in re Bilski, the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences of the USPTO has issued a precedential opinion (444.34 kB) on the patentability of algorithms.

In his amicus curiae brief of 26 April 2009, Mr. M. Schulz contested the impartiallity of the Board because one of its members had officially and publicly given his opinion on matters concerning the patentability of computer-implemented inventions. According to the Enlarged Board, it is established case law of the Boards of Appeal, the Enlarged Board and the national courts of the member states, that a board member expressing his view on legal issues in a previous occasion can not lead to the conclusion of doubts as to impartiallity. As, once a judge has been lawfully appointed, he is deemed to act in good faith and is presumed impartial until proven otherwise, the Enlarged Board has decided to leave the composition of the Enlarged Board unchanged.  — Read more »

The European Patent Academy has provided two e-learning modules on the patentability of computer-implemented inventions, that provide a nice introduction into the patentability of computer-implemented inventions.