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You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office Decisions >> Konami Corporation (Patent) [2004] UKIntelP o19904 (8 July 2004)
URL: http://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKIntelP/2004/o19904.html
Cite as: [2004] UKIntelP o19904
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Konami Corporation [2004] UKIntelP o19904 (8 July 2004)
For the whole decision click here: o19904
Patent decision
- BL number
- O/199/04
- Concerning rights in
- GB0031126.6
- Hearing Officer
- Dr H Edwards
- Decision date
- 8 July 2004
- Person(s) or Company(s) involved
- Konami Corporation
- Provisions discussed
- PA 1977 section 1(2)
- Keywords
- Excluded fields (refused)
- Related Decisions
- None
Summary
The invention was to a gaming machine which runs races between horses, dogs etc, players betting on the outcomes which are determined in accordance with probabilities of winning internally assigned to each horse. Play is further constrained so that it is ensured that the machine keeps to a target payout rate. Before the race the player sees odds for each horse calculated from the target payout rate divided by its probability of winning. Since a payout is the product of the odds with the initial stake it is desirable that odds are quoted in round numbers so that payouts in small denominations can be avoided. The invention is to a routine which rounds off the odds for each horse in turn, while correcting its probability of winning to keep to the target payout rate. The correction to probability must then be allocated to other horses. It was decided that the substance of the invention was a computational routine in the field of a business method, mathematical method, game method, or computer program, with no saving technical contribution.