Author Archive

Indexing information for a search engine: technical

The decision concerns the field of search engine technology, and more particularly the indexing of information and accessing an index using a search engine. Here are the practical takeaways from the decision T 1247/18 (Search-based application development framework/ORACLE INTERNATIONAL) of 4.9.2020 of Technical Board of Appeal 3.5.07:

Key takeaways

Indexing, creating an index store and accessing the index store using a search engine all contribute to the technical character of the invention.

The invention

This European patent application concerns a framework which allows users to search transactional enterprise applications by means of a search engine, for example by inputting a natural language search query. The framework allso allows to perform actions using the results of a search.

To this end, crawlers are used to crawl enterprise/transactional applications as data sources. An index engine indexes a searchable document constructed by crawlers and makes an index store, i.e. locations at which indexes are stored, available to the search engine. The search engine may be any suitable search engine, such as an SQL search engine, Apache Lucene or Oracle Text search engine. A semantic interface may translate the query from natural language into a query that the search engine can use to search applications.

Fig. 1 of EP 1 999 660
Fig. 1 of EP 1 999 660

Here is how the invention was defined in claim 1:

  • Claim 1 (sole request)

Is it patentable?

The first-instance examining division had refused the application for lack of inventive step over a notoriously known general-purpose computer. The division generally followed the COMVIK approach and argued that the only technical feature of the method of claim 1 was that it was computer-implemented, which was already notoriously known. According to the examining division, the overall effect achieved by the features of claim 1 was the satisfaction of a user’s interest in a specific kind of search interface, which was a non-technical effect as it was only manifested in the user’s mind.

The appellant argued that this analysis was flawed, because the feature of creating an index store concerned the management of computer resources used when performing a search, which enabled a more efficient search of a plurality of transactional applications using an index store. Moreover, the feature “interfacing a semantic engine […]” allowed the search to be performed efficiently using a common search engine. This allowed the performance of a search engine to be leveraged to further increase the efficiency of searching transactional applications. Increasing the searching efficiency provided a “further” technical effect and was not dependent on a psychological effect on a user.

The board essentially agreed with the appellant’s case:

The Board agrees with the appellant that the Examining Division’s analysis of the technical character of the claimed subject-matter is fundamentally flawed.

In particular, the Board considers that at least the steps in the method according to claim 1 that are directed to indexing, creating an index store and accessing the index store using the search engine all contribute to the technical character of the invention since indexing in the context of claim 1 contributes to the technical character of the invention (see for example T 697/17 of 17 October 2019, point 5.2.5, page 20; see also T 1924/17 of 29 July 2019, point 14, page 28). Since the Examining Division did not consider these steps to have technical character, the Board cannot uphold the reasoning in the contested decision.

Because of this finding, the whole reasoning in the first-instance decision became obsolete:

Since the Examining Division considered indexing to be non-technical, it relied on a notoriously known general-purpose computer as the starting point for assessing inventive step. However, given the Board’s finding that the indexing steps contribute to the technical character of the invention, a notoriously known general-purpose computer is not a suitable starting point for the case in hand. Consequently, the Board does not consider that the contested decision provides a suitable basis for assessing inventive step.

The Examining Division cited document D1 in the contested decision and argued that this document disclosed all the technical and some of the non-technical features of the claimed method (see reason 5.1.2 above). However, the Examining Division did not provide a complete assessment of novelty including a detailed feature mapping, or any assessment of inventive step when starting from document D1. Hence, the additional remarks on document D1 in the contested decision do not allow for a judicial review of an inventive-step assessment starting from document D1 as the closest prior art.

Moreover, the Examining Division is yet to consider further documents cited as relevant in the European search report.

Nevertheless, with a view to accelerating the further prosecution of the case, the Board agrees with the appellant that the claimed indexing is different from the domain ontology and the mapping between data service schemas disclosed in document D1. In the Board’s understanding, the domain ontology according to document D1 serves the purpose of performing query mediation (see for example D1, abstract: “We propose an architecture for conceptual mediation in which the sources’ query capabilities are published as web services.”). In other words, D1 queries the sources using their query capabilities, whereas the invention appears to index data extracted from transactional sources for searching by means of an index store. Hence, the Board is not convinced that document D1 is a promising starting point for assessing the inventive step of claim 1 of the appellant’s sole request.

As the Examining Division’s objection under Article 56 EPC is not convincing and its objection under Article 84 EPC is no longer relevant in view of the amendments made, the appellant’s sole request overcomes all objections raised in the contested decision. Consequently, the contested decision is to be set aside.

As a consequence, the board remitted the case for further prosecution on the basis of the appellant’s sole request.

More information

You can read the whole decision here: T 1247/18 (Search-based application development framework/ORACLE INTERNATIONAL) of 4.9.2020

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Determining the risk of losses for pricing a risk insurance: non-technical

The invention in this appeal case is a classic example of a mixed-type invention with both technical (a computer, a database and a user interface) and non-technical features (an abstract economic model for determining the risk of losses). What’s interesting is that the board repeatedly assessed who the competent person for deciding on the claimed features is (which in this case was an economist and not a technical person). 

Here are the practical takeaways from the decision T 0848/15 of 24.6.2020 of Technical Board of Appeal 3.4.03:

Key takeaways

The selection of a distribution function with tail characteristics according to a line of business does not require technical, but only economic knowledge.

Selecting a starting excess point and fixing a (selected) distribution function thereto does not require technical, but economic knowledge and cannot be performed by the technically skilled person.

The invention

This European patent application concerns the problem of determining the risk of losses, which enables to determine prices in a risk insurance. To this end, loss distribution functions with particular properties are selected and then fixed and fitted to historical loss data associated with different lines of business by means of a computer.

Fig. 4 of EP 1 979 870
Fig. 4 of EP 1 979 870

Here is how the invention was defined in claim 1:

  • Claim 1 (main request)

Is it patentable?

The first-instance examining division had refused the application for lack of inventive step over a notoriously known computer system used to implement a business idea in a straightforward manner. On appeal, the appellant had argued that the invention was a mixed-type invention, the abstract economic model of which was modified by the technically skilled person so that it can be be implemented on a standard computer system. Also, the losses defined in the claims were all caused by random physical events like accidents, fires or floodings.

The board of appeal initially noted that the aim of the invention (determining the risk of losses for pricing a risk insurance) was per se of a purely economic nature. But since the invention was indeed a mixed-type invention, the board considered it appropriate to determine the features of claim 1 which do achieve a technical effect and the ones which do not (according to the well-established COMVIK approach).

According to the board, the features of claim 1 which clearly achieve a technical effect are that 1) an (unspecified) computer is used, 2) data are stored in a database and 3) a user interface is used to enter data and to indicate data on a display.

With respect to the other features of claim 1, the board took the following view:

As mentioned above, the application concerns the aspects of selecting loss distribution functions with particular properties as well as fixing and fitting these functions to historical loss data associated with different lines of business (page 2, line 16 to page 3, line 6).

In claim 1 of annex A, these aspects correspond to the method steps performed by the various modules and the compromise marker claimed in steps c) to j) as well as to the content of the data stored in the database (historical loss data associated with different lines of business, different distribution functions with different tail charac­teristics, e. g. Pareto and/or exponential distributions) as defined throughout features a) to j).

Per se, all these aspects relate to an abstract economic model for determining the risk of losses.

For example, the selection of a distribution function with tail characteristics according to a line of business (see features d) to f)) does not require technical, but only economic knowledge pertaining to which distribution function reflects best the probability of losses of a certain amount in a specific economic environment. This will be, e. g. different for a car insurance than for a nuclear power plant insurance. Such a selection can thus not be performed by a technically skilled person. Instead, an economist has to decide which distribution is to be selected for which line of business.

Consequently, the selection of distribution functions (and thereby, a library of different tail characteristics) has to be considered as being part of an abstract economic model for determi­ning the risk of losses, contrary to the submissions of the appellant (see section V. (b) above).

In a similar manner, the starting excess point is not chosen based on technical requirements. Instead, it is selected on the basis of known historical random events (see features g) and h)) and represents economic loss data. That is, selecting a starting excess point and fixing a (selected) distribution function thereto does not require technical, but economic knowledge and cannot be performed by the technically skilled person, either. Rather, this is the economist’s task and thereby has to be considered as being part of an abstract economic model for determi­ning the risk of losses, contrary to the arguments of the appellant (see section V. (b) above).

The Board accepts that in real life, losses to be paid for by insurances are usually caused by physical events. However, the application is not concerned therewith. Instead, a purely abstract, economic language is used throughout the application and no reference to any physical events or physical parameters can be found therein.

The determination of the risk of loss according to the present application is thus not to be equated with weather forecasts or the prediction of earthquakes (which both would require the use of physical parame­ters), contrary to the submission of the appellant (see section V. (c) above).

The further aspects mentioned above thereby relate exclusively to economic considerations in the framework of purely economic models defined by an economist. The Board is not aware of any modification of the abstract economic model thus defined which the technically skilled person would have to make from a technical point of view in order to enable the model to be run on a computer or Turing machine, contrary to the submission of the appellant (see section V. (b) above).

The application does not mention any such technically required modification, either. Instead, the only problems mentioned in the application (page 1, line 15 to page 2, line 4) concern fitting and extrapolating historical economic data per se and are not related to any technical issue that would arise from the use of a computer or Turing machine.

The Board is thus not aware of any issue that would hinder a straightforward implementation of the further aspects on a computer system, contrary to the arguments of the appellant (see section V. (b) above).

The Board notes that the modules and the compromise marker used for performing the method steps and comprised in the further aspects mentioned above have to be considered as software/computer programs which per se do not contribute to the solution of a technical problem, either, as set out by the Examining Division (see contested decision, page 3, fourth paragraph from the bottom).

As a main request, the appellant had requested that the case be remitted to the first instance and a search be performed based on the argument that the claims according to annex A comprised more technical features than the originally filed claims and that written prior art was therefore needed. But this argument did not persuade the board:

The Board accepts that claim 1 of annex A comprises more technical features than claim 1 as originally filed (which comprised the single technical feature that the method was computer-implemented) as pointed out by the appellant (see section V. (d) above).

However, the only features of claim 1 of annex A that achieve a technical effect are the use of an unspecified, i. e. general purpose computer system comprising a database and a user interface for entry and display of data corresponding to features 1), 2) and 3) as defined above. These features were, in combination, notoriously known at the date of filing of the present application (23 January 2006), as already set out by the Examining Division (see contested decision, page 4, paragraph 6).

The Board does not believe that written evidence is required for this finding. A search for written prior art is thus not necessary in the present case and a remittal to the first instance for that purpose would be inexpedient and detrimental to procedural economy.

Concerning patentability, the board decided as follows in applying the well-established COMVIK approach:

As mentioned above, all the technical features 1), 2) and 3) of claim 1 of annex A (see section 3.1) are considered to be notoriously known (see section 4.).

The subject-matter of claim 1 of annex A differs from such a notoriously known computer system only by aspects which do not produce a technical effect (see section 3.2 above). According to the jurisprudence of the Boards of Appeal, it is legitimate to include the non-technical aspects of an invention in the statement of the problem to which the skilled person seeks a solution as an aim to be achieved (see Case Law of the Boards of Appeal, 9th edition 2019, section I.D.9.1.4)).

Starting from a notoriously known general purpose standard computer with a database and a user interface according to features 1), 2) and 3), the objective technical problem to be solved may then be formulated as “how to implement the non-technical aspects of the method of determining a risk of losses associated with a line of business”.

Such an implementation does not go beyond straightforward programming on the standard computer of a purely economic concept not requiring the exercise of an inventive activity. Hence, the subject-matter of claim 1 of annex A and therefore according to auxiliary request 1 is not inventive within the meaning of Article 56 EPC 1973.

As an auxiliary request, the appellant had filed a further claim set with the aim of adding more technical features to claim 1. But also the added features did not succeed:

“Quantifying” a risk as opposed to “determining” it only means that the risk is expressed by a number and not, e. g., by a term like “high”, medium” or “low”. This difference, however, does not achieve any technical effect, since the risk involved is of a purely economic nature.

Further, neither the “events” nor the “institutions” nor the “entities” are clearly defined in the application. Determining the risk of the occurrence of an “event” for an “entity” instead of for an “institution” thus corresponds to a change in wording only and does not entail any technical effect, either. The Board is thus not aware how the modification of features a’), b’) and j’) would emphasise the technical aspects of the invention further, contrary to the arguments of the appellant (see section V. (e) above).

Consequently, the modifications of features a’), b’) and j’) as compared to features a), b) and j), respectively, do not relate to any technical effect. Therefore, the arguments set out above for claim 1 of annex A equally apply to annex B of the letter dated 11. Mai 2020.

As a consequence, the appeal was dismissed.

More information

You can read the whole decision here: T 0848/15 of 24.6.2020

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Providing different user interface functions to the sender and the recipient of a shipment: non-technical

The invention in this patent application concerns the field of logistics, and addresses the problem of how to effectively transfer products from source to destination sites. The board of appeal made some interesting statements about the technical character of transportation and shipping, as well as whether providing different user interfaces for the source and destination sites is technical.

Here are the practical takeaways from the decision T 2362/13 (Logistics central station/SCHNEIDER LOGISTICS) of 1.9.2020 of Technical Board of Appeal 3.5.01:

Key takeaways

The transportation of a product from A to B is not necessarily technical. It is something that humans often do (for example when dropping off a packet at the post office). Thus, unless it is done in a technical way, using technical means, the transportation of products is not technical.

Technical shipping infrastructure does not lend technical character to the activity of planning and scheduling shipments. Logistics is generally considered as falling within the categories of excluded matter in Article 52(2) EPC.

Removing functions that are irrelevant to the user from a user interface does not constitute a technical solution to a technical problem.

The invention

This European patent application relates to a “logistics central station”, which is a node in a computer system for administering the shipment of products from a source site to a destination site. It has interface logic that provides a first interface allowing a first class of users affiliated with the source site to access a first set of functions, and a second interface allowing a second class of users affiliated with the destination site to access a second type of functions.

In other words, the logistics central station provides a different set of functions to the sender and the recipient of the shipment.

An example of a sender interface is shown in Figures 9A to E. It includes functions such as shipment confirmation, a view of pending shipments, and the sending of a shipping notice. Figures 10A to E shows an example of the destination interface. It has another set of functions including a “trailer arrival history”.

Fig. 9A of EP 1 330 751
Fig. 9A of EP 1 330 751

Here is how the invention was defined in claim 1:

  • Claim 1 (main request)

Is it patentable?

The first-instance examining division considered that the invention as claimed was an obvious implementation of a set of administrative functions and business rules on a notoriously known networked computer. More precisely, the functions in claim 1 were considered to be administrative functions relating to the shipment of products, and providing different functions to different classes of uses was considered to be a business rule.

The appellant argued that the “logistics central station” was a technical means that solved the technical problem of how to effectively transfer products from source to destination sites. But the board did not agree:

The Board is not persuaded by the appellant’s arguments. The application does not concern the physical transfer of products; it is about providing access to functions in a computer system. Thus, the Board does not see a basis for the alleged effect in the application as filed.

In any case, the Board does not agree that the transportation of a product from A to B is necessarily technical. It is something that humans often do (for example when dropping off a packet at the post office). Thus, unless it is done in a technical way, using technical means, the transportation of products is not technical. At any rate, technical shipping infrastructure does not lend technical character to the activity of planning and scheduling shipments. Logistics is generally considered as falling within the categories of excluded matter in Article 52(2) EPC (see the Guidelines for Examination, G-II 3.5.3, and T 983/11 – Coordinated marketing/PITNEY BOWES).

The appellant also argued that that the role-based user interface was easier to use than a user interface comprising functions for all the roles. Ease of use was a technical effect that counted towards inventive step:

The Board, however, does not agree that removing functions that are irrelevant or inaccessible to the user constitutes a technical solution to a technical problem. It is rather a consequence of the business requirement to provide different functions to different classes of users.

Thus, the Board agrees with the examining division that the subject-matter of claim 1 of the main request solves the problem of how to implement a set of administrative functions on a computer system. The computer implementation is technical, but, in the Board’s view, it would have been obvious for the skilled person.

As a result, the appeal was dismissed.

More information

You can read the whole decision here: T 2362/13 (Logistics central station/SCHNEIDER LOGISTICS) of 1.9.2020

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Controlling location-based functionality of a gaming device: technical

Computer gaming is certainly one of the more challenging areas in terms of patenting, and the concept of enabling certain gaming functions depending on the location of the user’s (smartphone) gaming device may sound rather non-technical at first glance. But the process of locating the gaming device, i.e. determining whether it is present within a certain geographic zone, is a technical task, and the patent application in this case concerned a more efficient technical implementation. Since the solution also turned out to be non-obvious, the appeal was successful.      

Here are the practical takeaways from the decision T 0892/18 of 28.7.2020 of Technical Board of Appeal 3.2.04:

Key takeaways

Using reference sets of signal strength or times of travel, which are calibrated for and associated with certain areas or sub-zones, allows for determining presence of a gaming device in a sub-zone without an intermediate triangulation step, and thus solves a technical problem.

The invention

This European patent application relates to a wireless gaming system. A central server and multiple gaming communication devices (e.g. cell phones of users) communicate with each other via a wireless network. Within a certain property, such as a casino, activities (e.g. gambling) are enabled depending on the presence of a gaming device within a dedicated sub-zone of a zone of the property.

The presence is determined by comparing actual signal strength or time of travel of a gaming device with reference sets of signal strength or time of travel associated with sub-zones, which have been established beforehand.

Fig. 3 of EP 6 786 488
Fig. 3 of EP 6 786 488

Here is how the invention was defined in claim 1:

  • Claim 1 (main request)

Is it patentable?

The examining division had refused the patent application by deciding that claim 1 contained added subject-matter and did not involve an inventive step. On the appeal stage, the appellant filed amended claims which eventually overcame the added subject-matter objection.

Regarding novelty and inventive step, the board started its analysis from a prior art document from which claim 1 differed in that

  • the property comprises a plurality of zones, each zone being associated with at least one allowed activity, wherein each zone comprises one or more sub-zones and each sub-zone being associated with a reference set of signal strengths or a reference set of times of travel of signals received by the plurality of signal detection devices from a gaming communication device in the sub-zone;
  • the software is configured to: determine the sub-zone in which the gaming communication device (13, 24, 604) is located based upon a comparison of a set of signal strengths or a set of times of travel of signals received by the plurality of signal detection devices from the gaming communication device with the reference set of signal strengths or the reference set of times of travel for each sub-zone.

In the words of the board:

Whereas claim 1 relates thus to detecting the presence of gaming devices within sub-zones of zones of a property by means of pre-determined reference sets of signal characteristics, D1 relies on triangulation for determining the absolute positions of gaming devices within a property (albeit to varying degrees of accuracy) and concludes on their presence in areas surrounding gaming machines from these absolute positions (page 11, second and third paragraph).

The subject-matter of claim 1 is thus new in the sense of Article 54(1), (2) EPC.

The central question was then, of course, whether this difference is a technical one, so that it can establish an inventive step. The board answered this in the affirmative:

In the light of the above identified difference, the problem to be solved can be considered as providing an alternative and efficient way of controlling location based functionality of the gaming communication devices of D1.

The problem is solved by the system of claim 1, since the concept of using reference sets of signal strength or times of travel, which are calibrated for and associated with certain areas or sub-zones, allows for determining presence of a gaming device in a sub-zone without an intermediate triangulation step.

Accordingly, the features in question were considered to contribute to the technical character of the invention without any discussion. What is more, claim 1 was eventually also considered to involve an inventive step:

The claimed solution is not suggested by any of the prior art cited by the Examining Division.

In particular, D2 proposes to use empirically-determined and theoretically-computed signal strength information (page 775, bridging paragraphs of the columns), which is representative for distinct physical locations on the floor of a building (page 777, last paragraph of section “3.2. Data Collection”). These reference sets of signal strength are, however, respectively associated with the distinct locations, not with areas or sub-zones, and are used in a further step of triangulation. Therefore, the straight-forward application of the method of D2 in the system of D1, which is also based on triangulation, would not result in the subject-matter of claim 1.

Since the subject-matter of claim 1 can thus not be obtained in an obvious manner from the cited prior art, it involves an inventive step in the sense of Article 56 EPC.

In the end, the board set aside the decision under appeal and remitted the case to the examining division with order to grant a patent.

More information

You can read the whole decision here: T 0892/18 of 28.7.2020

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Internet platform for customizing pet food: non-technical

The European Patent Office did not grant a patent on an internet-based ordering system for customizing pet care products, especially pet food.

This decision is a good reminder of how the COMVIK approach is applied to inventions involving a mix of technical and non-technical features. In essence, starting from commonly known manufacturing and packaging procedures, if the only features distinguishing the invention from the state of the art are non-technical features, the invention does not involve an inventive step. 

In passing, the board of appeal in charge also made an interesting comment that the word “system” in a patent claims does not necessarily imply a technical device, but depending on the context can also cover purely abstract systems such a set of organizational procedures.

Here are the practical takeaways from the decision T 1353/15 of 27.8.2020 of Technical Board of Appeal 3.4.03:

Key takeaways

The use of the word “system” in the definition of the claimed method […] does not necessarily imply the use of any technical means.

The invention

This European patent application relates to a method and an apparatus for ordering customized pet care products.

Data characterising the pet, e.g. age, size, breed of the pet, information relating to the health and care of the pet, are obtained from the pet owner (customer), and a profile of the pet is generated. Then, corresponding pet care products are proposed to the customer, who can order one or more of them. The order of the pet care product is then processed and the product is manufactured and packaged.

The aim of the invention is to provide pet care products, and especially pet food, which are better tailored to the specific pet.

An embodiment of the invention relates to an implementation of the claimed method using and Internet-based computer network architecture allowing the customer/pet owner to order the pet products online, as shown in Fig. 1:

Fig. 1 of EP 1 634 224
Fig. 1 of EP 1 634 224

Here is how the invention was defined in claim 1:

  • Claim 1 (main request)

Is it patentable?

The first-instance examining division had refused the application on the ground that the main request did not involve an inventive step. The applicant pursued the same main request on appeal.

The board of appeal, however, shared the examining division’s opinion, in particular that claim 1 does not use any technical means besides (implied) product manufacturing and packaging means. In this context, the board made some interesting remarks on the technical character of the word “system” used in claim 1:

The board shares the opinion of the examining division that the use of the word “system” in the definition of the claimed method (“A method for administering a consumer direct pet care system for offering customized pet care products…”) does not necessarily imply the use of any technical means. A system in this context can also be understood as a set of procedures […].

According to the board, with the exception of the manufacturing and packaging, which involves handling a physical product, the steps of the method relate to purely administrative (business) steps of a commercial transaction, but no technical means or any technical considerations are involved and no technical problem is solved. The board illustrated this point with the following observation on how the claimed method could be implemented:

A customer/pet owner enters a pet care shop. They discuss with an employee, who asks the customer a series of questions in order to get information about the customer’s pet, such as breed, age, size, and information related to the health and care of the pet. The employee, based on the information provided by the customer generates a pet profile. Based on this pet profile, the employee proposes to the customer pet care products that would be suitable to the specific pet. The customer orders one (or more) of the proposed products. The employee goes to the back of the store, manufactures the ordered product (e. g. mixes a specific composition of pet food), packages it and gives it to the customer.

In the board’s opinion, the features relating to the gathering of information from the customer and the generation of the pet profile based on this information neither contribute to solving any technical problem nor provide any technical effect. They were therefore considered to be administrative non-technical features, which cannot establish an inventive step according to the COMVIK approach.

Concerning the manufacturing and packaging steps, the board noted that these steps merely implied the use of unspecified technical means and the handling of an unspecified pet care product. The application, however, did not provide any information about how manufacturing and packaging are carried out. The board thus considered that these features of the claim belong to the state of the art and the common general knowledge of the skilled person.

The board thus concluded that claim 1 lacks an inventive step according to the well-established COMVIK approach:

Hence, starting from such commonly known manufacturing and packaging procedures, the only features distinguishing the claimed method from the state of the art are non-technical features. In the board’s opinion, such features cannot provide a basis for an inventive step within the meaning of Article 56 EPC 1973.

Since also the auxiliary requests were found not to involve an inventive step, the appeal was dismissed.

More information

You can read the whole decision here: T 1353/15 of 27.8.2020

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Efficient database transaction processing: technical

The European Patent Office a more efficient approach for processing database transactions to be technical. Here are the practical takeaways from the decision T 0568/17 (Database transactions/OPEN TEXT SOFTWARE) of 28.7.2020 of Technical Board of Appeal 3.5.07:

Key takeaways

A reference to OLAP systems does not anticipate a particular way of performing transactions.

The invention

This European patent application relates to providing support for ACID-compliant database transactions (atomic, consistent, isolated and durable) in databases that employ an index structure based on the principle of “compressed inverted indices”. The transactions operate on data entities, which are identified by unique identifiers.

The invention proposes to provide the database as an ordered set of data stores, each data store storing versions of one or more data entities. The data stores are ordered from least recent to most recent. The version of a data entity in the most recent (“newest”) data store is the currently valid version of the entity. If a transaction comprises insert, update or delete operations, new or modified versions of data entities are stored in a newly generated “modifiable” data store. When the transaction is committed, the modifiable data store is added to the ordered set of data stores as the “newest” data store.

Fig. 5 of EP 2 467 791
Fig. 5 of EP 2 467 791

Here is how the invention was defined in claim 1:

  • Claim 1 (main request)

Is it patentable?

The first-instance examining division had decided that the subject-matter of independent claim 1 of the main request was not new over document D1. The board did not agree:

Document D1 relates to the construction of an inverted index for high-dimensional data (see paragraph [0025] and claim 1). It does not disclose transactions, let alone a detailed mechanism for performing transactions as specified in claim 1 of the main request.

The Examining Division, in point 3.1 of the communication containing the reasons for the decision, apparently considered that “efficient transaction processing” was implicitly disclosed by the reference to current Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) systems in paragraphs [0009] and [0010] of the background section of document D1.

However, a reference to OLAP systems is far from a disclosure of a particular way of performing transactions.

Furthermore, the examining division had stated in its decision that it considered the term “transaction” to mean “any item which is processed within a computer system”. Also this assessment was turned over by the board:

Although this statement may explain why the Examining Division considered transaction processing to be implicit in OLAP systems, it also shows that the Examining Division failed to appreciate that claim 1 relates to the processing of a database transaction in the normal sense of the term, which is not any processed item but a unit of work that, in particular, is executed atomically, i.e. executed completely (and then “committed”) or not at all (with partial changes to the database being rolled back).

As to the claimed “ordered set of data stores”, which is an essential part of the invention’s mechanism for performing transactions, the Examining Division only stated that “the data source(s) from which data is received [in an OLAP system] can either be internal or external to a particular database system”.

But such a plurality of data sources does not disclose an “ordered set of data stores” to which a committed transaction commits a newly generated data store “as newest data store”.

As a result, the board concluded that claim 1 was novel over D1.

Moreover, the technical character of the above distinguishing features was not challenged by the board, but with respect to inventive step the board stated:

Moreover, since document D1 neither relates to providing support for database transactions nor discloses any of the key features of the invention, it cannot be regarded as a promising starting point for assessing inventive step. Therefore, it does not render the subject-matter of any of claims 1 to 15 obvious.

Since the board had doubts whether the search had  been carried out completely, the case was remitted back to the first instance for further prosecution.

More information

You can read the whole decision here: T 0568/17 (Database transactions/OPEN TEXT SOFTWARE) of 28.7.2020

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Text classification: non-technical

The European Patent Office considered text classification non-technical. Here are the practical takeaways from the decision T 1316/09 () of 18.12.2012 of Technical Board of Appeal 3.5.01:

Key takeaways

Text classification per se does not serve any technical purpose.

The technical effect of a feature must be sufficiently substantiated.

The invention

The application underlying the present decision relates to a method and a system for suggesting automated responses to an incoming electronic message based on content analysis and categorisation (cf. EP 1 587 004 A1, paras. [0002]-[0003]). A classifier uses query-based classification in combination with example-based classification to classify the content of an incoming message (cf. EP 1 587 004 A1, paras. [0004]).

Fig. 2A of EP 1 587 004 A1

  • Claim 1 (main request)

Is it patentable?

In the course of the examination procedure, the examining division inter alia raised objections concerning inventive step. At the end of the examination phase, the application was rejected. During the appeal proceedings, the appellant argued that the objective technical problem underlying the present application could be formulated as “how to more efficiently and effectively provide a response to an incoming message”. However, the Board in charge was of the opinion that the appellant failed to substantiate why the claimed method and system increases efficiency with respect to providing responses to messages:

4. (…) Firstly, the alleged effects are speculative, considering that nothing in the claimed invention prevents the intersection of the categories provided by a query and by the example-based algorithm being empty and hence that the claimed method is a complete failure. Even more importantly, the appellant did not provide any substantive reason why a more efficient and better categorisation of the informational content of an IEM qualifies as a technical effect at all and why such an advancement over the prior art has technical character.

More importantly, the Board in charge outlined that the inventive solution of the objective technical problem must be based on the technical features of the invention as claimed:

4. A decisive factor in any assessment of inventive step is the objective technical problem underlying the invention. The inventive solution of the objective technical problem must be based on the technical features of the invention as claimed. Text classification per se, however, does not serve any technical purpose. Neither does the combination of different methods of text categorisation per se provide any relevant technical effect that could form a valid basis for defining the objective technical problem. (…)

Hence, all claim features relating to the text classification aspects were ignored for the assessment of inventive step. As a result, the Board in charge concluded that the claimed subject-matter is rendered-obvious by the cited prior art and therefore dismissed the appeal.

More information

You can read the whole decision here: T 1316/09 () of 18.12.2012.

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Implementing the execution of a database view query: technical

The European Patent Office considered implementing the execution of a database view query technical. Here are the practical takeaways from the decision T 0104/12 (Metadata-based query/SAP) of 8.9.2016 of Technical Board of Appeal 3.5.07:

Key takeaways

Implementing the execution of a known database view query is technical. However, most probably, such an implementation is rendered-obvious by the prior art.

The invention

The application underlying the present decision relates to the field of data processing, and more particularly, to data extraction. A data extractor is a program used to fill a given extractor structure with data from a database. The extracted data is provided from the source system to a data warehouse (a sink) for the purposes of analysis and management information (cf. WO 2005/015435 A2, page 2, l. 2-5). One of the advantages of the present invention is that the interface between the data sink and the data source is generic such that not only specific data warehouses can act as a data sink but various different kinds of applications which require data from a data source for any purpose. Another advantage is that the data sink does not need to provide a complete extractor structure for all the data which are available from the data source. Rather the data sink is enabled to specify a sub-set of the data which is of interest. This reduces the amount of memory which is required by the data sink and it also substantially reduces the data transmission time from the data source to the data sink (cf. WO 2005/015435 A2, page 4, l. 8-18).

Fig. 1 of WO 2005/015435 A2.

  • Claim 1 (main request)

Is it patentable?

The present application was considered as not patentable by the first instance examining division. In more detail, the application was rejected due to lack of inventive step in light of prior art document D1. The rejection has been appealed by the applicant.

According to the Board of Appeal in charge, the subject-matter of claim 1 of the main request differs from well-known OLTP systems (considered to form the closest prior art for claim 1) in steps a. to d., which set out how the data sink obtains the information necessary to formulate the query, and in steps f. to h., which describe how the query is executed. Particularly, the Board considered the subject-matter of steps f. to h. as technical:

3.8 Hence, starting from the closest prior art identified in point 3.33.3 above, the Board considers that the technical problem solved by steps f) to h) is that of implementing the execution of a database view query. (…)

However, the Board in charge further outlined that the implementation of the execution of a query cannot render the claimed subject-matter inventive:

3.8 (…) The skilled person confronted with this problem would understand that, conceptually, such a query is to do what is described in point 3.63.6 above. The straightforward implementation of this conceptual approach corresponds to steps f) to h). Although the skilled person would be aware that this implementation will generally be inefficient, the acceptance of such a foreseeable disadvantage not offset by any unexpected technical advantage does not involve an inventive step.

As a result, the appeal was dismissed.

More information

You can read the whole decision here: T 0104/12 (Metadata-based query/SAP) of 8.9.2016.

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Using history data for predicting the future workload of a tiered storage system: technical

In this decision, the European Patent Office considered the concept of using history data for predicting the future workload of a tiered storage system to be technical. Here are the practical takeaways of the decision T 0943/16 (Tier assignments/MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING) of 25.6.2020 of Technical Board of Appeal 3.5.07:

Key takeaways

Purposively using history data to improve access times is not merely the physical consequence of a non-technical decision but a technical effect to be taken into account in the assessment of inventive step.

The invention

This European patent application concerns the problem of assigning searchable digital items to tiers in a tiered storage system serving as a search-engine index, with higher tiers offering faster retrieval but having smaller capacity.

According to the application, user history data is used to generate a quality indication of a tier assignment, where a tier assignment indicates to which of several tiers searchable digital items are assigned. The user history data may be obtained by monitoring user interaction, e.g. queries issued by the users, search results provided to the users or search results selected by the users.

Fig. 4 of EP 2 248 055
Fig. 4 of EP 2 248 055

Here is how the invention is defined in claim 1 of the main request:

A computer implemented method, comprising:

receiving user history data including queries that were issued by users and search results provided to the users in response to the queries; and

generating an indication of quality of a tier assignment used to store searchable digital items in a tiered storage system, wherein higher tiers have faster access and retrieval times when compared to lower tiers, and wherein the indication is based at least in part upon a subset of the user history data;

wherein the tier assignment indicates to which of several tiers the searchable digital items are assigned;

wherein the tiered storage system is a search engine index; and

wherein the method further comprises generating an improved tier assignment based at least in part upon the indication of quality, and assigning digital items to the tiered storage system based at least in part upon the improved tier assignment.

Is it technical?

The first-instance examining division had refused the patent application for lack of inventive step.

The board of appeal started its assessment from a prior art document that concerned the allocation of resources in the form of computing systems to applications with a tiered architecture, and concluded that the invention was not rendered obvious by this prior art. However, the board came to another conclusion with respect to the prior art acknowledged in the application itself:

In paragraphs [0003] and [0004] of its background section, the present application acknowledges a prior-art method of generating an improved tier assignment for storing searchable digital items in a tiered storage system, where the higher tiers have faster access and retrieval times when compared to lower tiers, the tier assignment indicates to which of several tiers the searchable digital items are assigned, and the tiered storage system is a search engine index. The acknowledged prior-art method further includes a step of assigning digital items to the tiered storage system based at least in part on the improved tier assignment.

The board found that claim 1 differed from the acknowledged prior-art method in three aspects:

  • (a) user history data is received which includes queries that were issued by users and search results provided to the users in response to the queries;
  • (b) an indication of quality of a tier assignment is generated based at least in part on a subset of the user history data; and
  • (c) the improved tier assignment is generated based at least in part on the indication of quality.

The first-instance examining division had essentially taken the view that the distinguishing features were not based on technical considerations and did not contribute to a technical effect. Accordingly, they could not contribute to inventive step under the COMVIK approach.

The board did not agree:

In the claimed method, history data is used for predicting the future use or workload of the system. The Board accepts that, in the present context, analysing history data enables a statistically reliable prediction of the system’s operation and does not lead to purely speculative results. Since the claim explicitly and clearly specifies that higher tiers have faster access and retrieval times than lower tiers, an improved tier assignment means improved average access times. Moreover, since the history data is purposively used to improve access times, this improvement is not merely the physical consequence of a non-technical decision but a technical effect to be taken into account in the assessment of inventive step (T 697/17 of 17 October 2019, reasons 5.2.3 to 5.2.5; T 1965/11 of 24 March 2017, reasons 5.1).

As it still had to be determined whether adding distinguishing features (a) to (c) to the acknowledged prior-art method would involve an inventive step, the board of appeal remitted the case back to the examining division for further prosecution.

More information

You can read the whole decision here: T 0943/16 (Tier assignments/MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING) of 25.6.2020

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Improving the quality of computer-generated exams: non-technical

In this decision, the European Patent Office did not grant a patent on the concept of improving the quality of computer-generated exams by utilizing empirical data of questions from previous exams. Here are the practical takeaways of the decision T 2087/15 of 21.7.2020 of Technical Board of Appeal 3.4.03:

Key takeaways

Taking into account the correlation with answers to other questions to improve the quality of each question does not have a technical effect, but would only improve a teaching method or competence screening, which is equivalent to an improvement of a non-technical activities, essentially being based on mental acts.

The invention

This European patent application relates to a method for improving the quality of computer-generated sets of examination questions utilizing empirical data of question items from previous exams.

The data are stored in a database of a data storage device and can include e.g. facility/difficulty, selectivity, distribution of answers, the correlation between the quality of the answers given to the question and the quality of the rest of the exam given by a person, the deviation in the responses given to the question, or other criteria. The method comprises a step of selecting a random question from the database and evaluating the selected question based on predetermined requirements for the possible inclusion in a question set (e.g. an exam or a questionnaire) for presentation to exam candidates. Questions found not fulfilling the requirements are discarded so that a question set of better quality is obtained. The steps of storing data, selecting, evaluating and possibly discarding question items are performed by computer-based means.

Fig. 1 of EP 2 100 285
Fig. 1 of EP 2 100 285

Here is how the invention is defined in claim 1:

  • Claim 1 (sole request)

Is it technical?

The first-instance examining division had refused the patent application based on lack of inventive step.

The board of appeal based its analysis on independent method claim 8, which was broader than system claim 1, because claim 8 lacked the step of indicating “a quality of the new question set by comparing an actual reliability of the new question set in use to a calculated reliability, assuming …”. According to the board, the aim of the present invention as defined in claim 8 was to generate exams, questionnaires or similar skill-level tests administered in large numbers, by:

a) randomly selecting a question within one or more predetermined topics from a number of existing questions in at least one topic, each question of said number of existing questions being associated with a data set related to answers given to the questions in previous exams,

b) evaluating the selected questions relative to predetermined requirements related to a measure based on facility, selectivity and distribution corresponding to said data set for possible inclusion in a question set for presentation to exam candidates and

c) discarding questions not fulfilling said requirements thereby generating a question set for presentation to exam candidates.

Based on the established COMVIK approach, the board assessed whether these features contributed to the solution of a technical problem, but found that no technical contribution was present:

The Board is of the opinion that steps a) to c) are well-known tasks of people preparing exams (e.g. teachers) who for centuries have performed this task mentally or on paper. A school teacher or an instructor preparing an exam e.g. for driving test candidates or for pilots selects question items from a pool of existing questions used in previous tests and evaluates these items with respect to their facility (i.e. how well or badly the question was answered in previous exams), selectivity (i.e. how representative the question is for the ability the exam aims to test) or distribution (i.e. how the scores in previous exams were distributed among the different candidates). If they find the selected and evaluated question unsuitable for the test (e.g. because it was too easy or too difficult for the average candidate in previous tests or because it revealed being erroneous or unclear), they will discard this particular question and not include it into the test they are preparing. However, if they find the question item suitable for the test, they will consider its inclusion in the test.

It follows that steps a) to c) for adapting questions to the level of students are not related to solving a technical problem, but to the non-technical task of a test writer (e.g. a teacher).

Even when characterised quantitatively, the effects underlying the claimed selection criteria are non-technical effects, merely possibly taking place in the minds of students facing easy or difficult questions, as they might face a test which corresponds more or less to their individual intellectual abilities. The same effects are expected to be achieved by the question sets resulting from the above mentioned steps a) to c).

Also the arguments put forward by the appellant did not convince the board. Firstly, the appellant argued that taking into account the correlation with answers to other questions improves the quality of each question:

The Board is of the opinion that the appellant’s argument that the invention took into account the correlation with answers to other questions to improve the quality of each question – see statement of grounds of appeal, page 1, third and fourth paragraphs – is not relevant, because in the method according to claim 8 a step of evaluating the “correlation” of a given question item with answers to other questions is not a part of the claimed method. This appears to be confirmed by the appellant’s statement in the annex to the letter dated 21 April 2020, page 9, first paragraph.

Even if the Board were to accept that the invention took into account the correlation with answers to other questions to improve the quality of each question, the effect of this feature is not of technical nature, but would only improve a teaching method or competence screening, which is equivalent to an improvement of a non-technical activities, essentially being based on mental acts.

The Board did also not share the appellant’s view that the present invention would work without human interaction so that it does not necessitate that any part would be performed in the mind of a student:

The method according to claim 8 uses a data base comprising data sets “related to answers given to the questions in previous exams” and aims at “generating a question set for presentation to exam candidates”. A skilled person understands that the term “previous exams” does not relate to exam performed by a computer, but by human candidates so that the data sets are the result of human interaction, namely the performance of human test candidates in past exams. Moreover, the skilled person understands that the questions sets generated are to be presented to human exam candidates so that it can reasonably be argued that those effects provided by steps a) to c) which are actually sought to be achieved by the invention and in the end might provide an objectively measurable difference over prior art question sets – i.e. that the question sets generated perform better than previous question sets – might possibly take place in the minds of these candidates.

The appellant further argued that the invention “consistently” improved the quality of a question data base, and hence the quality of questionnaires produced from that in the case of multiple choice question (MCQ) exams. But also this argument did not succeed:

The Board is not convinced by these arguments, because claim 8 neither comprises any means for improving the quality of the database nor is it limited to MCQ exams. However, even if the Board were to accept that the quality of the questions in a data base would improve, this cannot be qualified as a technical effect. The Board is of the opinion that steps a) to c) are performed by a person preparing an exam with questions to be presented to candidates. These type of exams existed well before the priority date of the present application, e.g. for the Chinese imperial examinations (606 – 1905). Hence, the Board agrees with the appellant that the claimed method does not change an individual question (i.e. does not improve its quality), but aim at providing an improved set of questions for an exam.

Lastly, the appellant stated that the technical character of the invention would be related both to the objectivity and efficiency of the system as well as the fact that a manual operation handled by humans simply is not possible. The question sets were produced as a data selection resulting from statistical analysis of the registered responses to the questions. The appellant also argued that the invention was completely separated from the subjectivity and illusiveness of what goes on in the mind of students and teachers:

The Board is not convinced by these arguments, because claim 8 is not limited to a “large amount of input” difficult to handle by a human operator (e.g. a teacher). It might be correct that a test writer would have difficulties to mentally handle fifty thousand questions. In the Board’s view there would be no problem to handle an ensemble of e.g. fifty questions known to the test writer and used in previous tests. As claim 8 does not specify the number of questions from previous exams in the data base, the method involving steps a) to c) on a computer is not necessarily more efficient. Furthermore, if the decision of including or discarding is based e.g. on the difficulty of the selected question (i.e. the number of correct answers compared to the number of total answers), it is not plausible that the method implemented on a computer would be necessarily more objective (or less subjective) than the same method performed by a human. Moreover, claim 8 does neither exclude any additional “manual operation” by a human being, nor does it require any statistical analysis, “sound mathematics and statistical procedures” or “special statistical arrangements” as argued in the statement annexed to the letter dated 21 April 2020. In other words, the Board is not convinced that the claimed method is necessarily performed more efficiently and/or less subjectively by computer-based means, compared to a human test writer. Finally, the Board cannot agree that the steps a) to c) could not be a part of what the appellant calls “teaching sphere”, because the function of exams e.g. provided by a teacher to his students is to evaluate if his teaching was successful. Hence, it cannot be said that steps a) to c) are outside the “teaching sphere”.

Therefore, the Board shared the view of the examining division that the technical features of claim 8 are not more than a computer having a data storage device (i.e. a memory) for storing a data base and a processor for implementing a method involving non-technical method steps a), b) and c) on this computer. Thus, the sole technical problem derivable from the wording of claim 8 was the proper configuration and programming of known technical means (i.e. a computer having a data storage device) in order to implement non-technical (teaching) constraints, i.e. the method steps a) to c).

The application itself did not provide any specific way of how this objective technical problem is to be solved, but merely stated that “all of these may be programmed into a computer or a computer network using general programming tools”. Therefore, the Board took the view that a skilled person (i.e. a computer specialist) being provided with the above requirement specifications, i.e. steps a) to c), would implement them in a straightforward manner as part of his daily routine, that is to say without making an inventive step.

In the end, the claims were not found to involve a non-obvious technical contribution, and thus the appeal was dismissed.

More information

You can read the whole decision here: decision T 2087/15 of 21.7.2020

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