I recently stumbled upon an article which stated Google was seeking patents for certain algorithms. Algorithms can not be patented under European law. I was wondering how this would work internationally.
Posted Jun 8, 2018, 6:43 PM UTC
Not very well.
I draft patents for a living. Maybe 1/10 of them get foreign filings in addition to the US filing because it's usually not worth it. We sometimes have to make changes to comply with laws in other countries or just different prior art that different examiners find, so you'll end up with a slightly different version of the patent filed in different countries that cover different things.
Patents are only enforceable in their home country unless there is a treaty requiring mutual patent enforcement. Generally speaking it's best practice for businesses to file patents everywhere their patented idea would be operating.