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You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office Decisions >> Hideaki Koiwai (Patent) [2007] UKIntelP o37307 (31 December 2007)
URL: http://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKIntelP/2007/o37307.html
Cite as: [2007] UKIntelP o37307
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Hideaki Koiwai [2007] UKIntelP o37307 (31 December 2007)
For the whole decision click here: o37307
Patent decision
- BL number
- O/373/07
- Concerning rights in
- GB0512872.3
- Hearing Officer
- Mr P Marchant
- Decision date
- 31 December 2007
- Person(s) or Company(s) involved
- Hideaki Koiwai
- Provisions discussed
- PA Act 1977 Sections 1(1), 1(2) 76
- Keywords
- Added subject matter, Inventive step
- Related Decisions
- None
Summary
The patent application relates to a golf putter having a measurement scale and sighting means to estimate the distance to the hole. The examiner had objected that new subject matter had been added contrary to section 76, that the invention lacked inventive step in the light of four prior specifications and that it was excluded from patentability. The hearing officer considered the added subject matter issue, decided at the hearing new subject matter had been added and accepted a form of claim with the added subject matter removed, for consideration of the other issues. He found the resulting claim to lack inventive step in the light of the prior art. With the claim before him invalidated he was unable to make a determination as to the excluded matter point but considered that as long as any eventual claim was distinguished from the prior art by physical features it should not be excluded. The patent application was remitted to the examiner for further processing.