Patent decision

BL number

O/117/19

Concerning rights in

GB1801081.9, GB1804424.8 and GB1808466.5

Hearing Officer

Mr P Mason

Decision date

28 February 2019

Person(s) or Company(s) involved

Corethree Ltd

Provisions discussed

section 1(2) and s76(2)

Keywords

Added subject matter, Excluded fields (refused)

Related Decisions

None

Summary

The applications were further divisional applications of a parent application that had been refused at an earlier hearing. The applications relate to the provision of electronic tickets presented to a user on a mobile computing device or smart phone. The tickets comprise a digital watermark that is animated to signify information to the user. The Hearing Officer applied the four-step test set out in the Court of Appeal judgment in Aerotel/Macrossan. He decided that the alleged contribution made by the invention is not technical in nature. He found that the contribution falls solely within excluded subject matter as no more than a program for a computer as such, a method for doing business as such and a presentation of information as such. The Hearing Officer also found that amended claims submitted contained added subject matter. The applications were refused under section 18(3).

Full decision O/117/19 280Kb