Patent decision

BL number

O/233/07

Concerning rights in

GB0415075.1

Hearing Officer

Mr P Slater

Decision date

17 August 2007

Person(s) or Company(s) involved

Cellarman Limited

Provisions discussed

PA 1977 Section 1(2)(c)

Keywords

Excluded fields (refused)

Related Decisions

None

Summary

The invention relates to a computer network for ordering stock in which a central server is connected to a number of remote servers. The central server stores a complete inventory of those items which may be ordered by users at each of the remote servers. The inventory or a subset thereof is transferred and stored at each of the remote servers, and is tailored to a specific user by central or remote filtering. Each remote server acts as a stand alone system via which users can place orders which are subsequently transferred to the central server when a predetermined number of orders have been made or at a predetermined time, hence there is no requirement for a permanent connection between the remote and central server. Pricing data and data relating to deliveries is also exchanged between remote and central servers where it may be stored and used to reconcile orders and deliveries for accounting purposes. The invention provides users with relevant information about goods and services available to them, enables them to join together in orders to obtain volume discounts, provides them with up-to-date pricing information and an improved system for auditing stock and linking deliveries with specific orders.

The hearing officer held that the invention failed the third step of the Aerotel/Macrossan [2006] EWCA Civ 1371 test because the contribution, related to no more than a method for doing business and/or a computer program as such. Any advantage in speed or robustness of the network having been achieved by what is clearly a business decision on behalf of the systems proprietor, to provide the end user with less information and to send orders less frequently.

Full decision O/233/07 41Kb