Patent decision

BL number

O/202/08

Concerning rights in

GB0506607.1

Hearing Officer

Mr R C Kennell

Decision date

15 July 2008

Person(s) or Company(s) involved

NEC Corporation

Provisions discussed

PA 1977 Section 1(2)

Keywords

Excluded fields (allowed)

Related Decisions

None

Summary

The claims related to a method and apparatus for deciding the tilt angle of antennas in radio communication system. The examiner considered that the claims needed to be restricted to actual use in controlling antennas to avoid exclusion as a computer program, but the hearing officer (considering the mathematical method exclusion also) held that on the basis of VICOM (T 208/84), Astron Clinica [2008] RPC 14, Halliburton v Smith [2006] RPC 2 and Institut Francais &c (BL O/201/03) a step of outputting an optimal tilt angle for use in controlling the tilt angle sufficed to tether the claims to a patentable invention. The hearing officer also accepted that a proposed claim to a computer program product for implementing the method would not be open to objection under section 1(2).

Full decision O/202/08 50Kb