For the whole decision click here: o27304
Summary
The invention concerns an on-line product catalogue for use in an internet shopping environment. In the embodiment described, users may navigate through a virtual space which includes some symbols representing products (e.g. multimedia resources), and other symbols representing 'real' people navigating through the same virtual space. The characterising feature of the invention is the use of a particular type of virtual space called an 'odyssey', in which a user is constrained to follow a pre-defined route through the on-line catalogue.
The Hearing Officer considered that the invention did not involve a technical contribution, and that it related to a scheme for doing business and/or a program for a computer as such. He also considered that the application would have suffered the same fate under the EPC having regard to the Board of Appeal's decision in two recent cases - Pension Benefits and Hitachi.