Patent decision

BL number

O/135/16

Concerning rights in

GB1513695.5, GB1515825.6, GB1515826.4 and GB1515827.2

Hearing Officer

Mr H Jones

Decision date

14 March 2016

Person(s) or Company(s) involved

Bernard Matthews Limited

Provisions discussed

Sections 1(1)(a), 1(1)(b) and 76

Keywords

Added subject matter, Inventive step, Novelty

Related Decisions

None

Summary

The applications relate to the treatment of meat to reduce the number of viable micro-organisms thereon without impinging on the fresh, i.e. unfrozen, nature of the meat. All four applications were considered together at a single hearing. Various objections concerning inventive step, clarity and added subject matter were overcome either through amendments proposed at the hearing or through argument. One of the applications, GB1515827.2, was refused for lack of novelty over prior disclosure of the same method for processing meat but for a different effect, the hearing officer citing the case of Tate & Lyle Technology Ltd v Roquette Freres [2010] FSR1.

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URL: http://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKIntelP/2016/o13516.html