Patent decision

BL number

O/0965/23

Concerning rights in

GB2115878.7

Hearing Officer

Mr B Buchanan

Decision date

11 October 2023

Person(s) or Company(s) involved

Akiva Capital Holdings Inc.

Provisions discussed

Patents Act 1977, section 1(2)(c)

Keywords

Excluded fields (refused)

Related Decisions

None

Summary

The claimed invention relates to a system for conducting a continuous forward rate agreement (CFRA) in a cryptocurrency using smart contracts. The problem addressed is that smart contracts for a decentralised currency are immutable and if linked to a variable interest rate, cannot feasibly lock a coin, and fix an interest rate. The proposed solution implements a third “obligation contract” to wrap borrower and lender smart contracts and effectively control the interest rate. An additional advantage is that circumstances that would trigger the termination of a smart contract can be avoided, and the system uses a patch instead of a full program code redeployment. Overall advantages include improved security, reliability and trustworthiness. The Hearing Officer applied the four step Aerotel/Macrossan test and considered the AT&T signposts. The contribution was found to apply only to the implementation of a CFRA. The claimed invention was found not to provide the required technical effect and so related solely to a program for a computer and/or a method for doing business as such. The application did not meet the requirements of section 1(2)(c) and was refused under section 18(3).

Full decision O/0965/23 338Kb