Patent decision

BL number

O/349/07

Concerning rights in

GB 0304056.5

Hearing Officer

Mr R C Kennell

Decision date

28 November 2007

Person(s) or Company(s) involved

Picochip Designs Limited

Provisions discussed

PA 1977 Section 1(2)

Keywords

Excluded fields (refused)

Related Decisions

None

Summary

The application related to the allocation of tasks to processors in processor arrays so that the resources for communicating data between the processors could be guaranteed without having to arbitrate for the use of bus or network communications in the system. Applying the test in Aerotel [2006] EWCA Civ 1371 and refusing the application, the hearing officer held that the contribution underlying all the independent claims irrespective of form was a method of allocating tasks in which a shared process was defined by the frequency or particular times within a sequence period or cycle at which data was to be transferred between individual processes. Since this merely fed into the array information provided by the user as to how the processors should be allocated and their operation timed, it fell solely within either the computer program or mental act exclusions.

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