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United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office Decisions
You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office Decisions >> NEC Corporation (Patent) [2008] UKIntelP o20208 (15 July 2008)
URL: http://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKIntelP/2008/o20208.html
Cite as: [2008] UKIntelP o20208

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NEC Corporation [2008] UKIntelP o20208 (15 July 2008)

For the whole decision click here: o20208

Patent decision

BL number
O/202/08
Concerning rights in
GB 0506607.1
Hearing Officer
Mr R C Kennell
Decision date
15 July 2008
Person(s) or Company(s) involved
NEC Corporation
Provisions discussed
PA 1977 Section 1(2)
Keywords
Excluded fields (allowed)
Related Decisions
None

Summary

The claims related to a method and apparatus for deciding the tilt angle of antennas in radio communication system. The examiner considered that the claims needed to be restricted to actual use in controlling antennas to avoid exclusion as a computer program, but the hearing officer (considering the mathematical method exclusion also) held that on the basis of VICOM (T 208/84), Astron Clinica [2008] RPC 14, Halliburton v Smith [2006] RPC 2 and Institut Francais &c (BL O/201/03) a step of outputting an optimal tilt angle for use in controlling the tilt angle sufficed to tether the claims to a patentable invention. The hearing officer also accepted that a proposed claim to a computer program product for implementing the method would not be open to objection under section 1(2).


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URL: http://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKIntelP/2008/o20208.html