Patent decision

BL number

O/373/11

Concerning rights in

GB 0902255.9

Hearing Officer

Dr J E Porter

Decision date

27 October 2011

Person(s) or Company(s) involved

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.

Provisions discussed

Patents Act 1977 section 1(2)(c)

Keywords

Excluded fields (allowed)

Related Decisions

None

Summary

The invention concerns image analysis and selection, and in particular concerns a computer-implemented method of selecting an appropriate image for a particular document from a number of ranked images created by analysing colour properties.

The examiner had objected that the invention was no more than a scheme, rule or method for performing a mental act. In light of the recent Patents Court judgment in Halliburton Energy Services Inc’s Applications, in which the mental act exclusion was construed narrowly, the Hearing Officer found that the present invention was not a mental act because it was implemented on a computer. The application was remitted to the examiner.

Full decision O/373/11 94Kb