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You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office Decisions >> Silixa Ltd (Patent) [2016] UKIntelP o00316 (5 January 2016)
URL: http://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKIntelP/2016/o00316.html
Cite as: [2016] UKIntelP o316, [2016] UKIntelP o00316
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Silixa Ltd (Patent) [2016] UKIntelP o00316 (5 January 2016)
Patent decision
- BL number
- O/003/16
- Concerning rights in
- GB1421510.7
- Hearing Officer
- Mr P Slater
- Decision date
- 5 January 2016
- Person(s) or Company(s) involved
- Silixa Ltd
- Provisions discussed
- PA 1977 Section 14(3)
- Keywords
- Estoppel, Sufficiency
- Related Decisions
- None
Summary
The invention relates to a distributed fibre optic sensor which can be used to perform acoustic measurements. Distributed fibre optic acoustic sensors operate by launching a light pulse into a sensing optical fibre. The light travels along the fibre and a small amount of this light is backscattered and/or reflected. Acoustic signals incident on the fibre change the strain in the fibre and this influences the backscattered or reflected light. Analysis of the backscattered/reflected light provides a measurement of the incident acoustic signal at different locations along the entire length of the fibre. The examiner considered the disclosure to be insufficient and was minded to refuse the application under Section 14(3).
The Hearing Officer considered the issue of sufficiency and found the application to be in order. Arguments regarding estoppel were dismissed