Patent decision

BL number

O/112/12

Concerning rights in

GB0709839.5

Hearing Officer

Mr A Bartlett

Decision date

9 March 2012

Person(s) or Company(s) involved

Mr Thomas Michael Anderson

Provisions discussed

Patents Act 1977 section 1(2)(c)

Keywords

Excluded fields (refused)

Related Decisions

None

Summary

The decision concerns whether the contribution made by the invention falls within the excluded fields as a scheme, rule or method for playing a game.

The invention comprises a word game in which single vowels are added to or subtracted from a word (presented in the form of an anagram) in order to produce longer or shorter dictionary-defined words. The examiner had objected that the claimed invention was excluded under section 1(2)(c) as a scheme, rule or method for playing a game and/or performing a mental act, and/or the presentation of information. The examiner had also informed the applicant that he was unable to see anything in the application which could form the basis of a patentable claim.

Applying the Aerotel test, the hearing officer concluded that the contribution made by invention fell solely within excluded matter as it related to the rules for playing the particular game. In addition, upon reviewing the application as a whole the hearing officer concluded there were no possible amendments which could support a patentable claim, since any apparatus used to play the game was already known. Given that the application wholly fell within the 'games' exclusion, the hearing officer saw no need to consider other excluded fields.