Patent decision

BL number

O/338/13

Concerning rights in

EP 0461761 B1

Hearing Officer

Mr A C Howard

Decision date

19 August 2013

Person(s) or Company(s) involved

Malcolm Paul Varnham and Diana Hodgins and BAE Systems plc

Provisions discussed

Patents Act 1977 Section 40; Rules 74, 79, 82

Keywords

Decline to deal, Disclosure, Employees / employment, Stay of proceedings

Related Decisions

None

Summary

A preliminary hearing was in prospect to determine a request by the defendant that the comptroller should decline to deal with the case. The claimants requested disclosure of certain documents before the preliminary hearing took place. They also requested the proceedings be stayed pending issue of an Office decision in another, unrelated, case under s.40. Both requests were opposed by the defendant. In refusing both requests, the hearing officer considered that the claimants had not explained how disclosure of the documents they sought would help the proceedings at this preliminary stage; while there was no indication when the other proceedings (which were confidential) would be concluded.

Full decision O/338/13 42Kb