Computer based simulations are patentable(10/10/2011)
The High Court has overturned a decision of the UK Intellectual Property Office (UK-IPO), explicitly confirming that technical design methods are patentable, even where the method is implemented entirely on a computer (for example, using simulation software). The UK-IPO had previously rejected a series of patent applications from Halliburton describing methods of designing a roller cone drill bit using various computer simulations.