Patent decision

BL number

O/152/07

Concerning rights in

GB0514167.6

Hearing Officer

Mr J Elbro

Decision date

1 June 2007

Person(s) or Company(s) involved

Fisher-Rosemount Systems Inc

Provisions discussed

PA Act 1977 Section 1(2)

Keywords

Excluded fields (refused)

Related Decisions

O/148/07, O/149/07, O/150/07, O/151/07

Summary

The application related to a process control system which used a two tier database of objects corresponding to elements of the process and process flow modules. The hearing officer followed the four-step approach to the assessment of patentability under section 1(2) approved by the Court of Appeal in Aerotel/Macrossan [2006] EWCA Civ 1371 in determining whether the invention was excluded from patentability. He held that the contribution defined by the claims was the two-tier database, and that therefore they were excluded from patentability as they related to a computer program as such.

Full decision O/152/07 55Kb