Patent decision

BL number
O/288/09
Concerning rights in
GB0600352.9
Hearing Officer
Mr H Jones
Decision date
22 September 2009
Person(s) or Company(s) involved
Emerson Process Management Power & Water Solutions, Inc.
Provisions discussed
PA 1977 section 1(2)
Keywords
Excluded fields (refused)
Related Decisions
None

Summary

The application relates to a computer implemented method for converting control routines in a process control system from ladder logic into Boolean logic. The Hearing Officer applied the “technical contribution” test recently endorsed by the Court of Appeal in Symbian and found that the contribution made by the invention was not technical. The invention was found to be a program for a computer as such and the application was refused. In view of this, the issue of whether the invention relates to a mental act was left undecided.

Full decision O/288/09 PDF document31Kb