While patents have an increasingly relevant role in innovation, I often find that there is a generalized difficulty in understanding what is patentable and, especially, what makes a patent different from a research paper in the field of computer science. Thus, I prepared a checklist for computer implemented inventions for those writing their first patent.
For those who would like to read more about the topic, the EPO provides an online e-course:
A curiosity about patents. Did you the paper clip has all the ingredients needed for a patent? It was patented in 1897