Originally Posted by
robt
AFAIK (not a lawyer and certainly not an IP lawyer), algorithms cannot be patented in the EU because they are protected as mathematical facts. However, in practice, computer algorithms are commonly patented as "a method to do X with a computer". Whether or not such patents are legally enforceable is a very murky area. This is a lot more common in the US, which has much looser protections against patenting computer algorithms and specifically allows business method patents, which the EU and UK do not (although enforcement in the rest of the EU is a bit looser than the UK).
It is my understanding that it is no longer completely impossible in the UK/EU, although it is commonly believed to be. I believe the main workaround in the EU is to patent a specific device, say a medical scanner, that uses <algorithm for medical scanners> and use a very broad definition of what constitutes the medical scanner part, so that for all intents and purposes the algorithm itself is patented.
As far as I can tell, SIAE is the Italian copyright registry and mainly deals with music licencing. So anything registered with them is covered by copyright, not a patent. It might be patented as well, but the patent would need to cover something other than just the algorithm itself. I'm not sure how you'd track that down. More than likely they are just using the wrong word, perhaps by mistake, or to create deliberate confusion.