Patent decision

BL number

O/130/22

Concerning rights in

GB2011051.6

Hearing Officer

Mr B Micklewright

Decision date

15 February 2022

Person(s) or Company(s) involved

River Lane Research Ltd.

Provisions discussed

Patents Act 1977 sections 1(1)(d), 1(2)

Keywords

Excluded fields (refused)

Related Decisions

None

Summary

The invention related to a method of determining at least one unknown energy level of a physical system using a quantum computer. In particular the invention used an overlap estimation routine which was linear in the Hamiltonian. The hearing officer applied the Aerotel steps and considered the AT&T signposts to be relevant to quantum computers as they are to classical computers. Following a careful analysis of the signposts and the arguments presented by the applicant the hearing officer found that the invention related to a program for a computer as such but not to a mathematical method as such. He also considered whether an amendment to a specific application would avoid the exclusions but decided that it would not. That application was therefore refused.

Full decision O/130/22 289Kb