IPO The invention computerised the playing of ‘chit fund’ games (traditional in SE Asia, in which a specified number of subscribers contribute to a fund on a number of subscription dates and then make bids for the total fund) to make them more flexible and attractive, eg for business purposes. Amongst other things, computerisation allowed a creditworthiness check on subscribers to be made at a remote server. Applying the test in Aerotel [2006] EWCA Civ 1371 and refusing the application, the hearing officer held that the contribution was not a new combination of hardware, but was a new way of playing a game relying on the programming of standard computer hardware items. Nothing in the contribution was not excluded as a computer program, a method of playing a game or a business method.
Citations:
[2007] UKIntelP o35907, O/359/07
Links:
Intellectual Property
Updated: 20 October 2022; Ref: scu.456873