Patent decision

BL number
O/315/07
Concerning rights in
GB0318502.2
Hearing Officer
Mr A Bartlett
Decision date
29 October 2007
Person(s) or Company(s) involved
Thomas Guy Sneesby
Provisions discussed
PA 1977 Section 1(2)(c)
Keywords
Excluded fields (refused)
Related Decisions
None

Summary

The invention relates to a system for generating bespoke adverts targeted at specific website visitors. The system uses demographic data to populate the advert with user-specific content so that the advert is specifically tailored to the user. The applicant contended that the fact that the advert was populated in real time gave the invention technical advantages and also that the independent claims are directed to apparatus and a method including a number of technical features. The hearing officer applied the four step Aerotel/Macrossan test, concluding that the hardware specified in the claims of the application is entirely conventional and that the contribution made by the invention resides in what it is programmed to do. He therefore concluded that the contribution fell solely within the computer program exclusion.

Full decision O/315/07 PDF document40Kb