Patent decision

BL number

O/183/05

Concerning rights in

GB0316992.7

Hearing Officer

Mr S Probert

Decision date

28 June 2005

Person(s) or Company(s) involved

Dell Products LP

Provisions discussed

PA . 1977 Section 1(2)(c)

Keywords

Excluded fields (refused)

Related Decisions

None

Summary

A scheme for determining the priority of work in a factory and warehouse. In a “build-to-order” model, products are manufactured only after an order has been received; completed products being stored in a warehouse until the entire order is complete and ready for shipment.

The efficiency of the process is compromised by the accumulation of incomplete orders in the warehouse which may consume a substantial amount of floor space. The invention involves prioritising the manufacture of products such that eg. orders having the fewest number of incomplete units are given the highest manufacturing priority. Orders with only a few incomplete units will be completed first, thereby freeing floor space in the warehouse sooner.

The Hearing Officer concluded that the invention was a method of doing business as such. He was unable to identify a technical contribution.

Although the method uses a computer program, the Hearing Officer considered that the computer program was purely incidental, and he did not regard the invention as relating to a program for a computer as such.

By clicking on the symbol of a particular product, the user may obtain specific product information and/or order a product on-line. By clicking on a symbol representing another person the user may communicate with that person and discuss the products on offer.

Full decision O/183/05 36Kb