Patent decision

BL number
O/260/12
Concerning rights in
GB0920058.5
Hearing Officer
Mr B Micklewright
Decision date
3 July 2012
Person(s) or Company(s) involved
Fabio Passetti et al
Provisions discussed
PA 1977 Section 1(2)
Keywords
Excluded fields (refused)
Related Decisions
None

Summary

The application relates to a computer system which implements a computer program for searching and displaying biological information stored in one or more databases by converting the information from the database(s) into a ternary matrix using three separate characters to represent biological information eg 0, 1 & |. 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 decisions in AT&T & Cvon and concluded that the contribution did not have a relevant technical effect. The application was refused as no more than a program for a computer and the presentation of information as such.

Full decision O/260/12 PDF document52Kb