2026 EPO Guidelines add a dedicated treatment of artificial intelligence

2026-03-17EPO

Guidelines for Examination in the EPO (2026 edition), General Part 5 “The use of artificial intelligence”; E-III, 10.1; F-III, 3

The 2026 edition of the EPO Guidelines for Examination adds a new general section on the use of artificial intelligence and tightens the sufficiency-of-disclosure requirements for artificial intelligence inventions at F-III, 3. Applicants must disclose the mathematical methods and the training data in enough detail that a skilled person can reproduce the invention without undue burden, and must make the asserted technical effect credible on the face of the application.

What it changesThe European disclosure standard is now stricter than the United States written-description practice most applicants file to. For a family headed to both offices, the training-data description and the technical-effect showing have to be in the priority document, because neither can be added later without a new matter objection.

← All recent developments · Full archive

This is general information about a published decision, agency guidance or piece of legislation. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Items concerning offices outside the United States are reported for information only and are not counsel on the law of those countries.