Patent decision

BL number

O/256/10

Concerning rights in

GB0620326.9

Hearing Officer

Mr P Slater

Decision date

21 July 2010

Person(s) or Company(s) involved

Fisher-Rosemount Systems Inc

Provisions discussed

PA 1977 Section 1(2)

Keywords

Excluded fields (refused)

Related Decisions

None

Summary

Summary: The invention relates to the creation of graphical user interfaces and displays within a process control system. The invention itself provides an integrated graphical user interface which includes a common graphical display editor that can be used to create common graphical elements or objects representing various sections of the plant and individual devices within the plant. These graphical elements are then stored in a centralised “object” database which can also be used to store information linking the various elements to their corresponding hardware devices within the plant. Individual displays appropriate to the user can then be created at their own workstations using combinations of the graphical elements stored in the object database to build up a picture of the plant including the various links required to establish connections between the elements and their corresponding devices.

The hearing officer considered the four-step test in Aerotel/Macrossan in the light of the Symbian judgment, and found the contribution to relate to computer program for creating and configuring a particular type of graphical user interface in a particular way. The Hearing Officer could find no technical contribution and so refused the application under Section 18(3).