Patent decision

BL number

O/299/06

Concerning rights in

GB 0324906.7

Hearing Officer

Mrs S E Chalmers

Decision date

20 October 2006

Person(s) or Company(s) involved

LG Electronics, Inc.

Provisions discussed

PA 1977 sections 1(1)(b), 14(5)

Keywords

Clarity, Inventive step

Related Decisions

None

Summary

The application relates to a home network system which enables networked appliances to be controlled by inputting control commands from a remote control server, network controller or internal PC. In this way, commands from an external PC or communication terminal may be transmitted via a Web or WAP server to the remote server to monitor and control the network appliance. A clarity objection was met by amendment of the claim at the hearing. However objection was maintained that the invention lacked an inventive step on the basis of two documents and common general knowledge. The HO held that the claimed invention was obvious and therefore refused the application as lacking an inventive step.

Full decision O/299/06 32Kb