Scientists have only a few weeks to block a patent that could have serious implications for couples seeking IVF treatments in Europe. This is the stark warning from researchers writing in the journal Reproductive BioMedicine Online.

They state that the granting of a patent for a technique known as time-lapsed microscopy (TLM), by the European Patent Office in January, could result in significant increases in the cost of IVF treatments. According to the journal, a test based on the technique – which involves measuring the first three cell cycles in a human embryo – could make dramatic improvements in IVF success. Such a test could cost £750.

Many biologists believe it is wrong to try to patent something that is a natural process. However, a patent taken out by Stanford University and the biotechnology company Auxogyn was granted by the European Patent Office in January. Interested parties were then given nine months to oppose it. That deadline is 23 October.

"We are extremely concerned about this and have now passed on copies of our journal's paper to UK medical organisations – including the British Medical Association, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists – in the hope they will take action," said Professor Martin Johnson, the journal's editor.

"TLM is a very promising technique that could greatly improve implantation success rates. The European Patent Office should not have granted this patent in the first place, but unfortunately it has, and its validity must be challenged before 23 October by professional societies representing clinicians, scientists and patients."

The use of cell-cycle timing data to make dramatic improvements in IVF success rates was recently outlined in the UK. Researchers say that by studying the time that embryos take to develop, they can pick the best ones for implanting into the womb.

To do this, thousands of pictures are taken during the first days of an IVF embryo's life. Implantation success rates could triple because of this work, researchers add.

A furore over patents – sought in the US for the TLM technique by Auxogyn – erupted in July when Jacques Cohen, one of the world's leading embryologists, attacked Stanford and Auxogyn over their "outrageous" request to be given an American patent for cell-cycle timing technologies.

"Nature should not be owned by anyone," said Cohen, an embryologist based at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Centre in Washington. In an earlier edition of Reproductive BioMedicine Online, he wrote: "Claiming aspects of natural processes in embryos as property is an outrageous attempt to over-commercialise every step of an already expensive medical procedure."

However, Auxogyn believes it is wrong to suggest that the patent claims a natural process. The patent describes a method of assessing the development of embryos, rather than embryonic development itself.

According to Lissa Goldstein of Auxogyn, the technique "has the potential to minimise unsuccessful IVF treatments, and will therefore reduce patients' stress and costs".

The row over cell-cycle timing comes in the wake of the furore created by Myriad Genetics, which has taken out patents on human genes that are used to forecast cancer risks in women.

In the US, activists including the American Civil Liberties Union argue that it is immoral to claim ownership of humanity's shared genetic heritage. They are calling for the US supreme court to ban Myriad's patents.