Patent decision

BL number

O/358/16

Concerning rights in

GB1404499.4, GB1404486.1 and GB1404489.5

Hearing Officer

Mr P Mason

Decision date

28 July 2016

Person(s) or Company(s) involved

Palantir Technologies, Inc

Provisions discussed

PA 1977, Section 1(2)

Keywords

Excluded fields (refused)

Related Decisions

None

Summary

The invention of GB1404499.4 relates to a method for selecting, from a larger dataset, a subset of records that are related to a common entity by using a classifier which produces a matching probability value for each record in the larger dataset. The subset is created from records having a probability value above a set threshold.

The invention can identify potentially related records in a dataset whose records do not have well defined common attributes. The inventions of GB1404486.1 and GB1404489.5 relate to methods of comparing every record in a dataset with each of the other records, the comparison made only for selected attributes of each record. The method of ’86.1 specifically searches for any matching records within the set, while the method of ’89.5 checks if a specific record is unique within the set. The methods are particularly suited for very large datasets.

The Hearing Officer applied the four step test set out in Aerotel/Macrossan in the light of the Symbian judgements and the AT&T signposts. He found the inventions as claimed were excluded under Section 1(2) because they relate solely to excluded matter, namely to computer programs as such. The applications were refused.

Full decision O/358/16 121Kb