UK Supreme Court Rules Artificial Neural Networks Are Patentable, February 2026

On February 11, 2026, the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom issued its judgment in Emotional Perception AI Limited v Comptroller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks, case UKSC/2024/0131, neutral citation [2026] UKSC 3. The Court allowed the appeal, holding that an artificial neural network (ANN) implementing a media recommendation system does not constitute a "program for a computer...as such" within the meaning of section 1(2)(c) of the Patents Act 1977 and is therefore not excluded from patentability on that ground. The decision reverses the Court of Appeal's earlier ruling and overturns the original rejection by the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO).

The controlling provision is section 1(2)(c) of the Patents Act 1977, which excludes from the definition of an "invention" a "program for a computer...as such." The Supreme Court's reasoning focused on the nature of an ANN as a system that, once trained, operates through weights and connections rather than as a traditional software program executing explicit coded instructions. The justices (Lord Briggs, Lord Hamblen, Lord Leggatt, Lord Stephens, and Lord Kitchin) held that the computer-program exclusion must be interpreted in light of what is actually technical about the invention, not merely whether it runs on digital hardware.

Developers and owners of AI systems based on ANNs — including machine learning models used in recommendation engines, image recognition, natural language processing, and predictive analytics — may now seek patent protection in the United Kingdom where the ANN provides a technical contribution beyond running on standard computer hardware. The UKIPO must process patent applications for ANN-based inventions in accordance with the Supreme Court's analysis. Applicants whose prior applications were rejected solely on the computer-program exclusion ground should consider whether to file fresh applications or pursue reinstatement.

The decision addresses only the computer-program exclusion under section 1(2)(c) of the Patents Act 1977. ANNs must still satisfy all other patentability requirements — novelty, inventive step, industrial applicability, and the remaining exclusions under section 1(2) — to obtain a granted patent. The judgment also does not address how the European Patent Office, which applies the European Patent Convention, will treat equivalent ANN applications; alignment between UK and EPO approaches on this point is not guaranteed following the UK's departure from the EU patent framework.

Source: Emotional Perception AI Limited (Appellant) v Comptroller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks (Respondent), [2026] UKSC 3, UKSC/2024/0131, judgment delivered February 11, 2026. Official URL: https://www.supremecourt.uk/cases/uksc-2024-0131 — Confirmed March 12, 2026.

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