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In this co-published article, Haseltine Lake Kempners Laura Compton takes a practical look at how to formulate claims and draft applications for quantum machine learning inventions in view of the EPOs patent eligibility requirements

In quantum machine learning (QML), classical machine learning algorithms, or expensive subroutines of them, are typically adapted to run on a quantum computing device. QML utilises quantum resources to improve the execution time and/or the performance of classical machine learning algorithms.

Aspects of QML that may be patentable include the utilisation of a quantum computing device to execute more efficiently all or part of a classical machine learning algorithm (for example, using a quantum computer to calculate classical distances more efficiently for nearest neighbour, kernel and clustering methods), or to execute a model itself (for example, reformulating a stochastic model as a quantum system). Other related aspects include the reformulation of an optimisation problem such that it may be solved using a quantum computing device.

Another aspect of QML that may be patentable includes improvements to existing QML algorithms or models (for example, an improvement that reduces the depth of the quantum circuit required to execute the algorithm or model, and/or uses gates that are less complex, and/or avoids repetition of certain subroutines of the algorithm). Some improvements may be specific to the problem being solved itself (for example, modifying the operations applied to a quantum computing device such that a more limited space of potential solutions to an optimisation problem is then searched over by the device).

Inventions relating to these aspects will be considered patentable subject matter at the EPO when the quantum computing device is an integral part of the invention.

For such inventions, the independent claims are likely to make some reference to the quantum computing device and the manner in which the algorithm has been adapted to be implemented on it. The dependent claims, if not the independent claim itself, should:

In view of the EPOs technicality requirements, having a dependent claim that specifies how the output of the quantum computing device and/or the output of the machine learning model, is then used in some technical process, is recommended.

Where the invention relates to more general QML methods, or improvements to such methods (which could be applied to a wide range of problems across a wide range of fields), it is also recommended to provide a number of different use cases that demonstrate how the invention can be applied to different practical problems in the dependent claims, or the description,.

Quantum computing generally, as well as QML, is a rapidly evolving and complex field. As such, drafting applications which meet the EPOs sufficiency and clarity requirements can be a challenge. Therefore, when drafting patent specifications, it is best practice to include a full mathematical description of the quantum implementation of the algorithm or model, alongside how each operation being applied to the qubits relates to the algorithm or model being implemented (for example, describing how a series of operations applied to the qubits are representative of an objective function that is to be minimised).

For inventions which relate to improving existing QML algorithms or models, detailed description on how the changes to the quantum circuit enable the improvement to be realised should be included. As with any rapidly evolving field where there is a lack of universally accepted terminologies, for applications relating to quantum computing generally, the terms used in the claims of the application should be defined in the description.

Finally, experimental data can be particularly useful in terms of demonstrating an improvement in speed or accuracy over the prior art and can be useful for supporting inventive step arguments in later prosecution. It is also worth considering setting up the technical problem the invention solves in terms of why classical processes suffer from disadvantages that make them commercially or technically non-viable (for example, too slow for real time deployment).

To summarise, the points above can be used to assist in drafting QML inventions suitable for submission to the EPO and can be used to provide the applicant with the best possible chance of obtaining a commercially useful patent.

Laura Compton

Haseltine Lake Kempner LLP

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The keys to QML patent success - Lexology

The quantum internet is coming. Image Credit: Yurchanka Siarhei/Shutterstock.com

In recent years, quantum computing has taken quantum leaps in practicality, scalability, and raw computing power. However, replacing the worlds internet infrastructure with an entirely new system would likely take the best part of a century after all, many parts of the world dont even have access to the current internet.

One of the best ways scientists could make the quantum internet scalable would be to utilize the current infrastructure to transmit information.

Now, a research laboratory in Illinois has demonstrated long-distance transmission of quantum information using just existing fiber optic cables, pushing forward the dream of a scalable quantum internet.

To have two national labs that are 50 kilometers apart, working on quantum networks with this shared range of technical capability and expertise, is not a trivial thing, said Panagiotis Spentzouris, head of the Quantum Science Program at Fermilab, in a statement.

You need a diverse team to attack this very difficult and complex problem.

The experiment involved transporting quantum-encoded photons across a large distance while maintaining a high level of synchronization between them in human words, particles that have been modified to carry information are transported through a network while both ends of the line are working in harmony.

Synchronization is the real difficulty here. Computers must be synchronized across a network for a number of security and functional reasons, but this cannot rely on a standard clock. If you checked your watch and your friend checked theirs, even if you intentionally set them to almost identical times, they would still differ slightly by fractions of a second. For classical computing this simply wont do, so synchronization relies on Network Time Protocol (NTP), which synchronizes all participating computers within milliseconds of one another.

However, quantum computers are even pickier and require even smaller margins of error, so researchers must get creative to achieve synchronicity. The researchers sent a clock down the same optical fibres they were sending the quantum-encoded photons, just on different wavelengths to avoid interference, though this is no easy feat.

Choosing appropriate wavelengths for the quantum and classical synchronization signals is very important for minimizing interference that will affect the quantum information, said Rajkumar Kettimuthu, an Argonne computer scientist and project team member.

One analogy could be that the fiber is a road, and wavelengths are lanes. The photon is a cyclist, and the clock is a truck. If we are not careful, the truck can cross into the bike lane. So, we performed a large number of experiments to make sure the truck stayed in its lane.

They succeeded, with just a 5-picosecond difference between the clocks at each location. The researchers had managed to send quantum information across a long-distance network, using just current infrastructure, with incredible precision.

This is the first demonstration in real conditions to use real optical fiber to achieve this type of superior synchronization accuracy and the ability to coexist with quantum information, Spentzouris said.

This record performance is an essential step on the path to building practical multinode quantum networks.

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Quantum Information Transmitted Over A Long Distance Using Current Infrastructure - IFLScience

NEW YORK, July 04, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C., a nationally recognized shareholder rights law firm, reminds investors that class actions have been commenced on behalf of stockholders of IonQ, Inc. IONQ, Energy Transfer LP ET, Digital Turbine, Inc. APPS, and Teladoc Health, Inc. TDOC. Stockholders have until the deadlines below to petition the court to serve as lead plaintiff. Additional information about each case can be found at the link provided.

IonQ, Inc. IONQ

Class Period: March 20, 2021 May 2, 2022

Lead Plaintiff Deadline: August 1, 2022

On May 3, 2022, Scorpion Capital released a research report alleging, among other things, that IonQ is a "scam built on phony statements about nearly all key aspects of the technology and business." It further claimed that the Company reported "[f]ictitious revenue' via sham transactions and related-party round-tripping."

On this news, the Company's stock fell $0.71, or 9%, to close at $7.15 per share on May 3, 2022, on unusually heavy trading volume.

The complaint filed in this class action alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements, as well as failed to disclose material adverse facts about the Company's business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, Defendants failed to disclose to investors: (1) that IonQ had not yet developed a 32-qubit quantum computer; (2) that the Company's 11-qubit quantum computer suffered from significant error rates, rendering it useless; (3) that IonQ's quantum computer is not sufficiently reliable, so it is not accessible despite being available through major cloud providers; (4) that a significant portion of IonQ's revenue was derived from improper round-tripping transactions with related parties; and (5) that, as a result of the foregoing, Defendants' positive statements about the Company's business, operations, and prospects were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times.

For more information on the IonQ class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/IONQ

Energy Transfer LP ET

Class Period: April 13, 2017 December 20, 2021

Lead Plaintiff Deadline: August 2, 2022

Energy Transfer is a Delaware company headquartered in Dallas, Texas. Energy Transfer is a company engaged in natural gas and propane pipeline transport. It was founded in 1996 and became a publicly traded partnership in 2006. The Partnership through its subsidiaries provides transportation, storage, and terminalling services for products like natural gas, crude oil, NGL, and refined products. The Partnership also constructs natural gas pipelines through its various subsidiaries.

On April 13, 2017, the horizontal directional drilling activities ("HDD") for the Rover Pipeline Project, one of the Partnership's natural gas pipeline construction projects, caused a large inadvertent release of drilling mud near the Tuscarawas River in Ohio. On August 8, 2019, Energy Transfer filed its quarterly report on Form 10-Q with the SEC, reporting the Partnership's financial and operating results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2019. This quarterly report disclosed that two years earlier, in mid-2017 the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ("FERC")'s Enforcement Staff began a formal investigation "regarding allegations that diesel fuel may have been included in the drilling mud at the Tuscarawas River HDD." On this news, the price of Energy Transfer stock declined $0.65, or 4.6% over two trading days, to close at $13.38 on August 12, 2019.

Then, on December 16, 2021, FERC publicly issued to Energy Transfer the Order To Show Cause and Notice of Proposed Penalty, which directed the Partnership to show cause why it should not be assessed a civil penalty in the amount of $40,000,000. The order presented the allegation by the Enforcement Staff that the HDD crews intentionally included diesel fuel and other toxic substances and unapproved additives in the drilling mud during its HDDs under the Tuscarawas River. On this news, the price of Energy Transfer shares declined $0.24, or 2.8% over the course of two trading days, to close at $8.25, on December 20, 2021.

The Complaint alleges Energy Transfer concealed and misrepresented that: (a) Energy Transfer had inadequate internal controls and procedures to prevent contractors from engaging in illegal conduct with regards to drilling activities, and/or failed to properly mitigate known issues related to such controls and procedures; (b) Energy Transfer through its subsidiary hired third-party contractors to conduct HDDs for the Rover Pipeline Project, whose conduct of adding illegal additives in the drilling mud caused severe pollution near the Tuscarawas River when the April 13 Release took place; and (c) Energy Transfer continually downplayed its potential civil liabilities when FERC was actively investigating the Partnership's wrongdoing related to the April 13 Release and consistently provided it with updated information about FERC's findings on this matter.

For more information on the Energy Transfer class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/ET

Digital Turbine, Inc. APPS

Class Period: August 9, 2021 May 17, 2022

Lead Plaintiff Deadline: August 5, 2022

Digital Turbine is a software company that delivers products to assist third parties in monetizing through the utilization of mobile advertising. The Company completed the acquisitions of AdColony Holdings AS ("AdColony") and Fyber N.V. ("Fyber") on April 29 and May 25, 2021, respectively.

On May 17, 2022, Digital Turbine issued a press release revealing that it will "restate its financial statements for the interim periods ended June 30, 2021, September 30, 2021, and December 31, 2021, following a review of the presentation of revenue net of license fees and revenue share for the Company's recently acquired businesses."

On this news, the Company's shares fell $1.93, or 7.1%, to close at $25.28 per share on May 18, 2022, on unusually heavy trading volume.

The complaint filed in this class action alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements, as well as failed to disclose material adverse facts about the Company's business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, Defendants failed to disclose to investors: (1) that the Company's recent acquisitions, AdColony and Fyber, act as agents in certain of their respective product lines; (2) that, as a result, revenues for those product lines must be reported net of license fees and revenue share, rather than on a gross basis; (3) that the Company's internal control over financial reporting as to revenue recognition was deficient; and (4) that, as a result of the foregoing, the Company's net revenues was overstated throughout fiscal 2022; and (5) that, as a result of the foregoing, Defendants' positive statements about the Company's business, operations, and prospects were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis.

For more information on the Digital Turbine class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/APPS

Teladoc Health, Inc. TDOC

Class Period: October 28, 2021 April 27, 2022

Lead Plaintiff Deadline: August 5, 2022

Teladoc provides virtual healthcare services in the U.S. and internationally through Business-to-Business ("B2B") and Direct-to-Consumer ("D2C") distribution channels. The Company offers its customers various virtual products and services addressing, among other medical issues, mental health through its BetterHelp D2C product, and chronic conditions.

Teladoc touts itself as "the first and only company to provide a comprehensive and integrated whole person virtual healthcare solution that both provides and enables care for a full spectrum of clinical conditions[.]" Despite recent market concerns over new entrants to the telehealth field, such Amazon.com, Inc. ("Amazon") and Walmart Inc. ("Walmart"), the Company has continued to assure investors of the Company's dominant market position in the industry.

In fact, as recently as February 2022, Teladoc forecasted full year ("FY") 2022 revenue of $2.55 - $2.65 billion, as well as adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization ("EBITDA") of $330 - $355 million, on anticipated continued growth through its competitive advantages.

Throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company's business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) increased competition, among other factors, was negatively impacting Teladoc's BetterHelp and chronic care businesses; (ii) accordingly, the growth of those businesses was less sustainable than Defendants had led investors to believe; (iii) as a result, Teladoc's revenue and adjusted EBITDA projections for FY 2022 were unrealistic; (iv) as a result of all the foregoing, Teladoc would be forced to recognize asignificant non-cash goodwill impairment charge; and (v) as a result, the Company's public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.

On April 27, 2022, Teladoc announced its first quarter ("Q1") 2022 financial results, including revenue of $565.4 million, which missed consensus estimates by $3.23 million, and "[n]et loss per share of $41.58, primarily driven by [a] non-cash goodwill impairment charge of $6.6 billion or $41.11 per share[.]" Additionally, the Company revised its FY 2022 revenue guidance to $2.4 - $2.5 billion and adjusted EBITDA guidance to $240 - $265 million "to reflect dynamics we are currently experiencing in the [D2C] mental health and chronic condition markets." On a conference call with investors and analysts that day to discuss Teladoc's Q1 2022 results, Defendants largely attributed the Company's poor performance, revised FY 2022 guidance, and $6.6 billion non-cash goodwill impairment charge to increased competition in its BetterHelp and chronic care businesses.

On this news, Teladoc's stock price fell $22.48 per share, or 40.15%, to close at $33.51 per share on April 28, 2022.

For more information on the Teladoc class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/TDOC

About Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C.:

Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C. is a nationally recognized law firm with offices in New York, California, and South Carolina. The firm represents individual and institutional investors in commercial, securities, derivative, and other complex litigation in state and federal courts across the country. For more information about the firm, please visit http://www.bespc.com. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.

Contact Information:

Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C.Brandon Walker, Esq. Melissa Fortunato, Esq.(212) 355-4648investigations@bespc.comwww.bespc.com

Link:
Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C. Reminds Investors That Class Action Lawsuits Have Been Filed Against IonQ, En - Benzinga

Rigetti and Riverlane Receive a 500 Thousand ($613K USD) Grant to Work on Error Correction

Rigetti Computing and Riverlane have received this grant from Innovate UK, the UKs national innovation agency, to study syndrome extraction on superconducting quantum computers. This would be a critical step for providing error correction on the qubits in a fault tolerant quantum computer. Since a qubit cannot be measured directly without collapsing quantum error correction circuits have to be made more complex than their classical counterparts. A common method is to include additional qubits in the circuit called ancilla (or auxiliary) qubits that can be entangled with the data qubits and subsequently measured to form a syndrome pattern. This syndrome pattern can indicate if there is an error within the data qubits and what qubits are affected. Additional gates can then be applied to the data qubits based upon the syndrom to fix the data qubits and correct the errors. The beauty of this approach is that while the ancilla qubits are measured the data qubits are not measured so they remain in the quantum state and dont collapse. This research from Rigetti and Riverlane will explore ways of implementing this error correction process while minimizing any additional errors that could result from the syndrome extraction process itself. For more about this grant and research project, you can view a press release located here.

June 27, 2022

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Rigetti and Riverlane Receive a 500 Thousand ($613K USD) Grant to Work on Error Correction - Quantum Computing Report

Its been a nightmare couple months for cryptocurrency investors. Theyve watched their Bitcoin BTC holdings hemorrhage 70 percent of their value since the record high of $69,000 back in November. Overall, theyve suffered crypto losses totaling more than half (55%) of capitalization, or an estimated market loss of $2 trillion.

The days when crypto enthusiasts could talk about crypto as if Bitcoin were the new reserve currency, or the digital equivalent of the gold standard, or even a transformation of what it means to invest, are over. Crypto looks more like a classic boom and bust investment, like Dutch tulips, rather than the next best hope for humanity.

PARIS, FRANCE - FEBRUARY 06: In this photo illustration, a visual representation of the digital ... [+] Cryptocurrency, (Photo by Chesnot/Getty Images)

As I warned in an earlier Forbes column, the crypto boom was driven by systematic policy failures by major central banks. As long as they made bad decisions about monetary supply or failed to take on inflation, cryptocurrencies were going to look like solid investments. As soon as central banks shook off their inertia, crypto values started heading south. Meanwhile, the threat of regulation of the crypto marketregulations that might strangle the Bitcoin goosehas raised additional uncertainties about where the market is headed, and whether it pays to buy low nowor run for the hills.

Nonetheless, as Bloomberg reports, venture capitalists still want in the crypto game. Theyre being smart. They sense that despite the burst bubble since January, cryptocurrencies will be here to stay. They may not save humanity from itself, as some thought, but they remain a valuable speculative instrument but also a store of value when other investments look uncertain or too volatile to handle.

At the same time, Bitcoin and crypto do offer a deeper secret that is important to the rest of humanity. That secret isnt what they do, but how they do it. i.e. with Distributed Ledger Technology or blockchain.

An abstract digital structure showing the concept of blockchain technology with hexadecimal hash ... [+] data inside each block.

We can think of blockchain as an enormous spreadsheet thats reproduced thousands of times across a network of computers, that regularly updates the spreadsheet and its common database. The growing list of records in the ledger, called blocks, are linked or chained together to all previous blocks of transactions, using a cryptographic fingerprint known as a hash. Each transaction is independently verified and confirmed by peer-to-peer computer networks, time-stamped, and then added to the distributed ledger. Once recorded, the data cannot be alteredand its only shared with those who are part of the encrypted ledger.

Former SEC Chairman Jay Clayton has predicted that blockchain is the future of our financial markets, including digital currencies. High-tech guru George Gilder sums up the future of blockchain this way: Even though bitcoin may not, after all, represent the potential for a new gold standard, its underlying technology will unbundle the roles of money. Blockchain may even represent the future of the Internet.

There is, however, a cloud hovering over the DLT future, a quantum cloud.

This column pointed out back in 2018 that DLT was vulnerable to future quantum computer attack. Our latest report from the Quantum Alliance Initiative at the Hudson Institute, gives some idea of the cost of such a future quantum computer assault. Our econometric calculations indicate that such an attack would amount to $1.8 trillion in direct losses, with an additional loss of $1.4 trillion in indirect impacts. Taken together, a successful quantum computer decryption of cryptocurrencys most valuable assetits blockchain encryptionwould result in a $3.34 trillion hit on the U.S. economy, with negative ripple effects across the global economy for a long time to come.

Stablecoins doesnt fare any better in this scenario. Since these crypto instruments are pegged to 1:1 ratios with fiat currencies, the resulting liquidity crunch as margin calls come due and banks scramble to cover losses, means they too become quantum road kill.

Whats the answer? As weve mentioned in other columns, crypto companies need to adopt quantum-safe encryption to protect their future. That means either installing post-quantum cryptographic algorithms like the ones being standardized by the National Institute of Standards and Technology or turning to quantum-based cryptography, which uses quantum random number generators and quantum key distribution to create hack-proof communication links across the ledger.

There are even quantum security companies that offer both.

Likewise, it would make sense for a government regulatory crypto regime to require installing quantum-safe solutions for the entire industry. Making cryptocurrencies quantum secure could even set the next cryptographic standard for the rest of the financial sector, from banks to equity and credit markets.

Either way, the future of blockchain, like the future of crypto, hangs in the balance. So will the future of the U.S. economy, unless we start getting smart about the quantum threat to come.

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Can Crypto Still Save The World? - Forbes