Patent decision

BL number

O/384/10

Concerning rights in

GB 0812561.9

Hearing Officer

Mr S Brown

Decision date

4 November 2010

Person(s) or Company(s) involved

Intuit Inc.

Provisions discussed

PA 1977 Section 1(2)

Keywords

Excluded fields (refused)

Related Decisions

None

Summary

The application relates to a method for upgrading software by monitoring usage and enabling the use of a simpler program where suitable.

The Hearing Officer applied the Aerotel/Macrossan test and decided that the contribution made by the invention fell solely within excluded matter. He also considered the Court of Appeal decision in Symbian and the decision in AT&T & Cvon and concluded that the contribution did not have a relevant technical effect. The application was refused as being a program for a computer as such.

Full decision O/384/10 51Kb