Patent decision

BL number

O/073/05

Concerning rights in

GB 2366358

Hearing Officer

Mr D J Barford

Decision date

21 March 2005

Person(s) or Company(s) involved

Applied Energy Products Limited v Zip Heaters (UK) Limited

Provisions discussed

PA Act 1977 sections 72, 65

Keywords

Certificate of contested validity, Claim construction, Costs, Evidence, Inventive step, Novelty, Revocation, Sufficiency

Related Decisions

None

Summary

The claimant applied for revocation on the grounds (a) that the invention is not new and does not involve an inventive step; and (b) that the specification does not disclose the invention clearly enough and completely enough for it to be performed by a person skilled in the art. Claims A, B, C and D were offered by way of amendment.

The hearing officer found prior use against claim 1 and against claims A and B. He also found that certain of the appendant claims fell on grounds (a), despite a certain lack of evidence from the claimant. However he found that claim C was allowable as was claim 1 amended to incorporate certain other appendant claims. He found against the claimant on grounds (b).

Consideration of a request for a certificate of contested validity was deferred pending satisfactory amendment.

Costs were awarded to the claimant, the defendant's argument that when determining costs account should be taken of the claimant's failure to communicate with the defendant prior to filing the application for revocation was dismissed.

Full decision O/073/05 42Kb