Patent decision

BL number

O/016/09

Concerning rights in

GB 0618558.1

Hearing Officer

Mr R C Kennell

Decision date

22 January 2009

Person(s) or Company(s) involved

Schlumberger Holdings Limited

Provisions discussed

PA 1977 section1(2)

Keywords

Excluded fields (refused)

Related Decisions

[2007] UKIntelP o13507, [2003] UKIntelP o20103

Summary

The invention provided quality control indicators of improved reliability by processing sonic well logging data to generate a slowness vs frequency dispersion curve at each of a number of depths, and from that a projection log of curve data against depth. Although the invention was claimed as a method of performing a quality control analysis, the specification did not appear to contemplate anything more than visual inspection of the data.

Refusing the application, the hearing officer (following Symbian and Aerotel) held that the contribution was the processing of acquired sonic data to generate the dispersion curves and presenting the information in the form of the projection log. He held that this was excluded either as a mathematical method or as a mathematical method plus presentation of information, even though it did not set out a precise series of mathematical steps, and was not technical. This was because the contribution did not go beyond manipulating data, albeit technical data, and presenting information from the manipulation to the operator; see related decisions above, and compare Vicom EPO T 0208/84. However the hearing officer did not consider the contribution to be excluded as a computer program, this being merely one way of implementing the invention.