Supreme Court Backs London AI Startup in Landmark Neural Network Patent Ruling

A small London-based AI company has secured a decisive victory in the UK Supreme Court, establishing that artificial neural networks (ANNs) can qualify for patent protection under UK law – a ruling set to reshape the country’s approach to artificial intelligence innovation.

The Court found in favour of Emotional Perception AI, overturning two decades of restrictive interpretation under the 1973 Patents Act that had cast doubt over the patentability of computer-implemented inventions. The judgment provides long-awaited clarity on how AI technologies are assessed, effectively future-proofing Britain’s high-tech economy.

At issue was whether neural networks — systems built using applied mathematics and trained on data — should be treated merely as excluded “computer programs” or recognised as technical inventions. The Supreme Court concluded that where such systems deliver a genuine technical contribution, they are not automatically excluded from protection.

The case centred on technology designed to “close the semantic gap” between machine output and human interpretation. Artificial neural networks operate as approximation engines — learning from training data, adapting dynamically and solving problems beyond conventional rule-based code. The company’s innovation underpins advanced recommendation systems, intelligent search and enhanced content identification across sectors from media to healthcare, building on principles of embedded vector search now widely deployed in commercial AI.

The ruling removes a long-standing structural constraint for Britain’s AI sector. By confirming that neural-network-based systems can qualify as patentable technical inventions, the Supreme Court has shifted them out of legal grey areas and into the mainstream of protectable IP.

Robust patent rights are central to venture capital flows, company valuations and defensibility in research-intensive markets. Greater certainty around AI inventions is therefore expected to stimulate both domestic and international investment into UK-based development and commercialisation, while influencing how innovation is structured, financed and protected across industries ranging from software to semiconductors, telecommunications and data science.

On his firm’s landmark ruling, Philip Walsh, Director at Emotional Perception AI, said:

“Our concern has always been that the UK’s legal framework wasn’t keeping pace with AI innovation. We’re delighted that the Court has provided clarity, and we deeply appreciate the strong backing we received from a broad coalition of UK industry leaders.