Patent decision

BL number

O/957/22

Concerning rights in

GB1917570.2

Hearing Officer

Mr S Brown

Decision date

3 November 2022

Person(s) or Company(s) involved

Luther Systems

Provisions discussed

PA 1977 Section 1(2)

Keywords

Excluded fields (refused)

Related Decisions

None

Summary

The application concerns the use of “blockchain” technology to manage an interest rate swap contract. Specifically, a management computer uses “blockchain” to hold details of pending events in the contract and thereby to generate a net amount for payment under the contract. In this way the system manages the interest rate swap with assurance being provided by the “blockchain” thus avoiding the need for a trusted third party.

The Hearing Officer applied the Aerotel/Macrossan test and considered the Court of Appeal decision in Merrill Lynch’s Application. He decided that the contribution made by the invention was excluded as a method of doing business as such. The Hearing Officer then also briefly considered the signposts laid out in HTC v Apple and concluded that the contribution was also excluded as a program for a computer. The application was refused under section 18(3).

Full decision O/957/22 287Kb