- BL number
- O/259/17
- Concerning rights in
- GB1411984.6
- Hearing Officer
- Mr P Mason
- Decision date
- 1 June 2017
- Person(s) or Company(s) involved
- Palantir Technologies, Inc
- Provisions discussed
- PA 1977, Section 1(2)
- Keywords
- Excluded fields (refused)
- Related Decisions
- None
Summary
The invention of GB1411984.6 relates to a computer program presenting a user with an interface so that they can search for possible duplicate data objects in a database by selecting from presented search criteria. If the user decides that a pair of objects found by the search are duplicates, they can choose to create a new merged object that combines data from the pair. This new object is added to the database and the original pair of objects are deleted from the database. Thus the invention is a tool for a user to check the quality of data in a database and resolve potential problems with the data.
The Hearing Officer applied the four step test set out in Aerotel/Macrossan in the light of the Symbian and Halliburton judgements and the AT&T signposts. He found the inventions as claimed re excluded under Section 1(2) because they relate solely to excluded matter, namely to computer programs as such. The applications were refused.