Excluded Subject Matter (11) – Presentation of Information

Presentation of information is one of the categories of subject matter that is considered not to be an invention.  As we have discussed for the other categories, such as computer software, mixed-claims including features in this category are permissible, but the features cannot contribute to an inventive step.

Presentation of information includes any method of transmitting information to a user, including visual, audio, or haptic, and to both how it is presented and the content.  However, the exception relates to the act of presentation, not an apparatus that conveys information (provided it can be protected by means of its technical features).  Also, the exception does not apply where the "information" is internal to a technical system. For example, the storage or transmission of information within a system, to allow the receiving part to perform a technical function, can be protected as the information is not being presented to a user (provided the technical features of the information can be captured in a claim).

There are, however, some ways of claiming inventions in this area which can support a technical effect and which lead to a patentable claim.  For this to be possible the technical effect must follow directly from the claimed features, and must not rely on a person taking a cognitive step to arrive at the technical effect. This is often referred to by the EPO as the "broken technical chain fallacy" to express that the links from the claimed feature to the technical effect are broken by the user having to take action (and hence the feature cannot provide a technical effect).  For example, a predictive text system to make it easier for a user to select a word would likely not give a technical effect due to the user having to view, think about, and select, the right word.

The information presented can provide a technical effect, for example the output of audio information for a hearing assessment can produce a technical effect.  Also, the method of presentation can provide a technical effect.  For example, the presentation of information close to the focal point of a user's eyes (where the focal point is determined by the system) can lead to a technical effect as it improves the function of the system. Similarly, the inclusion of markers at the edge of the screen to indicate the location of off-screen players in a football game was found to have a technical effect in relation to limited display sizes.

The display of information can also lead to a technical effect where it leads directly to an improvement in the operation of the device. For example, where a particular display reduces the processing burden to recognise user input. However, a particular design of user input screen merely for aesthetic or subjective reasons cannot provide a technical effect.

Inventions in this area can be challenging to protect, but with careful drafting and expression of how the system provides an improvement to the technical function of a device it is possible secure protection.

This article is a part of our EPO Practice and Peculiarities series. Click here to explore.