Medical procedures

European patent law excludes from patent protection “methods for treatment of the human or animal body by surgery or therapy and diagnostic methods practised on the human or animal body”. For example, a new way to give resuscitation, restart the heart or prevent bleeding cannot be patented. Anyone would be free to use such life-saving techniques.

However, new tools and devices used in diagnosis, such as ultrasound scanners, or in surgery, such as stents or implants, as well as new medicinal compounds used in treatments, are patentable. In fact, medical technology is one of the most active areas of patenting at the European Patent Office.