Patent decision
- BL number
- O/179/07
- Concerning rights in
- GB0508494.2
- Hearing Officer
- Mrs S E Chalmers
- Decision date
- 26 June 2007
- Person(s) or Company(s) involved
- Translution Ltd.
- Provisions discussed
- PA 1977 sections 1(2)(c)
- Keywords
- Excluded fields (refused)
- Related Decisions
- None
Summary
The application relates to a communications system for the automatic translation of electronically transmitted messages eg via email. Messages sent may be directed to a translation system to translate the message into a language of the intended recipient, before being forwarded to the recipient. Similarly messages received, may be directed to a translation system, to translate the message into the language of the recipient, and the translated message forwarded to the recipient.
The Hearing Officer considered the recent Court of Appeal judgment in Aerotel/Macrossan and decided that the actual contribution made by the invention fell solely within the meaning of a computer program. It was not necessary to consider if the contribution was technical in nature as set out in the fourth step of the Aerotel/Macrossan test. The application was refused.
Full decision O/179/07 30Kb