Freely Available British and Irish Public Legal Information
[Home] [Databases] [World Law] [Multidatabase Search] [Help] [Feedback]
United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office Decisions
You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office Decisions >> Fisher Rosemount Systems, Inc (Patent) [2009] UKIntelP o13609 (18 May 2009)
URL: http://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKIntelP/2009/o13609.html
Cite as: [2009] UKIntelP o13609
[New search] [Printable PDF version] [Help]
Fisher Rosemount Systems, Inc [2009] UKIntelP o13609 (18 May 2009)
For the whole decision click here: o13609
Patent decision
- BL number
- O/136/09
- Concerning rights in
- GB0419580.6 GB0419583.0 GB0724070.8 GB0724072.4
- Hearing Officer
- Mr A Bartlett
- Decision date
- 18 May 2009
- Person(s) or Company(s) involved
- Fisher Rosemount Systems, Inc
- Provisions discussed
- Section 1(2) of the Patents Act 1977
- Keywords
- Clarity, Excluded fields (allowed)
- Related Decisions
- None
Summary
The applications relate to reconfiguring a process control system associated with a process plant.
The hearing officer considered the four-step test in Aerotel/Macrossan in the light of Symbian, and found the contribution to be inexorably linked to the control of a process plant. All four applications were therefore found to make a technical contribution and thus to relate to non-excluded subject matter. The hearing officer also found that the claims were in need of amendment so as to clearly define the invention, and warned of possible conflict between respective parent and divisional applications.
The applications were referred back to the examiner to resolve the clarity issues and to complete his assessment of whether they comply with the remaining parts of the Act.