Patent decision

BL number

O/312/22

Concerning rights in

GB2005628.9

Hearing Officer

Mr B Buchanan

Decision date

7 April 2022

Person(s) or Company(s) involved

Capital One Services, LLC

Provisions discussed

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

Keywords

Excluded fields (refused)

Related Decisions

None

Summary

The claimed invention relates to a method for omitting the requirement to re-check previously checked promotional codes on the contents of a shopping cart. Upon detecting a change in a shopping cart, it is determined whether the present contents has been previously tested using codes. If so, valid codes are retrieved from memory. If not, a shadow session is generated in parallel with the user session and a cloned cart created to mirror the user-™s cart. Codes are then tested on the cloned cart in the shadow session which means that any conflicts do not occur in the user session and disrupt the user-™s experience. The alleged advantages are that checkout time is saved, unnecessary processing steps are omitted and processing conflicts are avoided. The Agent argued that the invention provided a better computer and the technical effect was more than a business method. The Hearing Officer applied the four stepAerotel/Macrossantest and considered theAT&Tsignposts.The contribution was found not to provide the required technical effect and the claimed invention was found to relate solely to a program for a computer and a method for doing business 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/312/22  352Kb