Patent decision

BL number
O/156/08
Concerning rights in
GB2430471A
Hearing Officer
Mr S Probert
Decision date
5 June 2008
Person(s) or Company(s) involved
Blaise Coonan
Provisions discussed
Section 1(1)(c)
Keywords
Industrial application
Related Decisions
None

Summary

The application relates to a variable buoyancy device that allegedly moves up and down in a fluid, by using eg. hydraulic forces within the fluid to change the volume (and hence buoyancy) of the device; the motion of the device being harnessed via cables and pulleys to generate electricity.

The hearing officer refused the application on the grounds that it was another example of a perpetual motion machine and therefore, according to the laws of physics, incapable of industrial application. Rather than recite the reasons already given by the Comptroller in many previous decisions, the hearing officer listed sixteen similar decisions from past cases and adopted the reasons.

Full decision O/156/08 PDF document21Kb