Patent decision

BL number

O/732/22

Concerning rights in

GB1719438.2

Hearing Officer

Mr B Buchanan

Decision date

26 August 2022

Person(s) or Company(s) involved

Walmart Apollo, LLC

Provisions discussed

Patents Act 1977, section 1(2)(c)

Keywords

Excluded fields (refused)

Related Decisions

None

Summary

The application relates to a system for enabling a user to choose and personalise an item to be made by additive manufacturing, such as 3D printing. The item is made according to a model which a user selects and configures according to preferences and customisation. The preferences may include physical properties such as the material to be used, and the resolution or detail. They may also include characteristics such as timescales, pick-up location and price. Customisation may relate to the incorporation of text, symbols or additional printed elements. The Hearing Officer applied the four stepAerotel/Macrossantest and considered theAT&Tsignposts.In identifying the actual contribution it was determined that the hardware, including the additive manufacturing platforms, did not add anything but that taking account of physical model preferences and platform characteristics could fall within some embodiments. However, the claim was not so limited, so some embodiments related to only business considerations. As a consequence, the contribution was found not to provide the required technical effect and the claimed invention was found to relate solely to a method for doing business and a program for a computer as such, so the application did not meet the requirements of section 1(2)(c). The application was refused under section 18(3).

Full decisionO/732/22  296Kb