Patent decision

BL number
O/149/08
Concerning rights in
GB0602813.8
Hearing Officer
Mr R C Kennell
Decision date
23 May 2008
Person(s) or Company(s) involved
IGT
Provisions discussed
PA 1977 Section 1(2)
Keywords
Excluded fields (allowed)
Related Decisions
None

Summary

The invention related to a gaming apparatus and method in which 2D image data was converted into a 3D video image and displayed on a non-planar 3D screen. The examiner had objected that the contribution of the invention was excluded under the above categories, but (although it was not apparent from the specification as originally drafted) the applicant argued that the invention lay in a technical improvement in the 3D image by virtue of its correction for image distortion, brightness distortion and colour aberration when displayed on a non-planar screen. The hearing officer asked the examiner to conduct a further search to determine whether this was conventional and gave the applicant an opportunity to comment on the results. In response the applicant filed amended claims in which a controller was programmed to correct for all three of the above defects. Applying the Aerotel test, the hearing officer held that these claims were not excluded under section 1(2) and remitted the application to the examiner for further consideration as to novelty and inventive step.

Full decision O/149/08 PDF document33Kb