Patent decision

BL number

O/047/07

Concerning rights in

GB 0308687.3 and GB 0602277.6

Hearing Officer

Mrs S E Chalmers

Decision date

14 February 2007

Person(s) or Company(s) involved

Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc

Provisions discussed

PA 1977 section 1(2)(c)

Keywords

Excluded fields (refused)

Related Decisions

None

Summary

The applications relate to methods of communicating process control information in a web services-based environment in which process control information is communicated between two web services via an information server including a router to convey messages containing the information between the two services. In GB 0308687.3, the invention is characterized in that configuration information is sent from a graphical user interface to the information server. A user is therefore able to create a personal profile which is stored in the information server and used by the information server to route selected process control information for viewing at the interface. In GB 0602277.6, the invention is characterized in that process control information from one web service is periodically requested by a scheduler in the information server for use by the second web service.

The Hearing Officer considered the recent Court of Appeal judgment in Aerotel/Macrossan and decided that the actual contribution made by the invention in both applications fell solely within the meaning of a computer program. It was not necessary to consider whether the contribution was technical in nature as set out in the fourth step of the Aerotel/Macrossan test. The applications were refused.

Full decision O/047/07 45Kb