IPOS issues supplemental guidance for examination of AI-related patent applications

29 October 2024

On 11 October 2024, the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (“IPOS”) released Supplemental Guidance for Examination of AI-related Patent Application (“Guidance”). The Guidance is intended to be a quick patentability reference for applicants seeking to protect their artificial intelligence (“AI”) related inventions.

Apart from setting out guidance on the requirements in the Patents Act 1994 relating to patentable subject matter and inventive step, support, and complete disclosure, the Guidance also provides a set of hypothetical examples pertaining to AI applications. Each example is accompanied by a brief background followed by a patent claim or a set of patent claims and a non-binding assessment on whether the claimed subject matter would be considered patentable or not patentable.

The Guidance sets out hypothetical examples relating to the following:

  • A generative adversarial network for fraud detection and data augmentation;
  • A reinforcement learning model for executing trades in the stock market;
  • Optimising the size of a trained neural network with respect to a processor;
  • Method of extending a neural network;
  • Method for allocating memory to a neural network;
  • Method for optimising a graphical user interface of a computer-aided design software;
  • Method of predicting the tensile strength of steel in a manufacturing process;
  • Method of predicting an acute cardiopulmonary event using an artificial neural network; and
  • Method for computing nozzle blockage of a liquid metal 3D printer.

In practice, AI-related patent applications would be examined for patentable subject matter on a case-by-case basis based on the information provided, which could include the consideration of other factors, bearing in mind that the claims still need to fulfil other requirements for patentability.

The Guidance elaborates on the guidance relevant to AI found in the Examination Guidelines for Patent Applications at IPOS with an emphasis on patentable subject matter.

Reference materials

The Guidance is available on the IPOS website www.ipos.gov.sg.