EP 01965508.3 numaralı patent başvurusu EPC Md. 84 açıklık ihlali gerekçesi ile İnceleme Birimi tarafından reddedilmiştir. Temyiz sahibi olan başvuru sahibi Temyiz Kurulu’nun ret kararını bozmasını ve başvuruyu tescil niyetinin bildirildiği Kural 71(3) aşamasına geri döndürmesini talep etmektedir.
Temyiz sahibi bir esas ve bir yardımcı/terditli talep dosyalamıştır. Temyiz heyeti önünde yapılacak duruşma öncesi ön görüşte hem esas hem de yardımcı taleplerdeki istem setlerinin Md. 84’ü karşılamadığı ifade edilmiştir.
Ana talebin ilk istemi aşağıda yer almaktadır:
“A method for managing impact of events on business services in an Information Technology (IT) Infrastructure comprising a plurality of paths (IT paths), each comprising IT elements, wherein internal end-users or external customers rely on business services to submit business transactions involving a sequence of application transactions along said plurality of Paths of the infrastructure to form Aggregates representing a snapshot of the IT elements for a path; the method comprising providing a knowledge base, and; comprising:
(a) configuring a backbone (85) comprising an abstraction layer (105), the method which further comprising configuring the abstraction layer by the steps of
(i) providing at least two peer-to-peer service processors (130, 130a, 130b, 130z ) in the IT Infrastructure where a large number of server processors have been installed;
(ii) least (sic) one of the service processors, referred to as a domain processor (120), being provided, from the knowledge base, with a pre-packaged set of event structures, data structures, and rules, such that the domain processor can deliver at least one abstraction service to abstract collected events;
(iii) at least one of the service processors (125), being configured as an ODS processor with a pre-packaged set of event structures, data structures, and rules, such that the ODS processor can deliver at least one object directory service;
wherein the backbone further a comprises a processing layer referred to as a business layer (100),
the method further comprising the step of configuring the business layer by
(i) providing at least one peer-to-peer service processor in the IT Infrastructure; and
(ii) providing the service processor, from the knowledge base, with a pre-packaged set of event structures, data structures, and rules, such that the service processor can deliver business impact statements.
(b) defining a plurality of business objects (STB) related to business transactions in the infrastructure;
(c) defining a plurality of IT objects related to the IT Components in the infrastructure; characterised by
(d) remotely submitting sample application transactions at selected source locations in the IT infrastructure while requesting the backbone to capture execution information along the Paths for each of the application transactions;
wherein remotely submitting sample application transactions comprises the steps of:
(i) decomposing at least one business service into one or more of the business transactions, wherein each business transaction branches to one or more site-specific business transactions (SBT);
(ii) further decomposing each site-specific business transaction (SBT) into one or more site application transactions (SAT);
(iii) organizing each site application transaction (SAT) into an orderly sequence;
(iv) associating to each site application transaction (SAT) at least one parameter to remotely submit a sample site application transaction at an associated source location;
(v) associating to each site application transaction (SAT) at least one parameter to request the backbone to capture related execution information for each sample site application transaction; and
(vi) defining at least one business user group as a resource dependent on at least one of the site business transactions for at least one of the business services.
(e) sending monitoring requests along Paths to monitor the Paths used by the application transactions to form monitoring information;
(f) abstracting the monitoring information into business impact information using abstraction rules, an abstraction rule being triggered by the arrival of information to generate an event, abstraction forming business impact information.”
Patent başvurusunun ret kararı Temyiz Kurulu tarafından onanmıştır. Onanma gerekçesi İnceleme Birimi’nin kararıyla uyumlu biçimde aşağıdaki terimlerin Md. 84 açıklık kriterini karşılamamasıdır.
“The (IT) Infrastructure comprising a plurality of paths (IT paths), each comprising IT elements”
Buna göre IT yollarına (paths) hangi elemanların atandığına dair kriterin net olmadığı ifade edilmektedir. İkinci olarak IT elemanlarının IT yollarına atanması işleminin zihinsel bir faaliyet olup olmadığı meçhul kabul edilmiştir.
EPC Madde 52 Paragraf (2):
The following in particular shall not be regarded as inventions within the meaning of paragraph 1:
- (a)discoveries, scientific theories and mathematical methods;
- (b)aesthetic creations;
- (c)schemes, rules and METHODS FOR PERFORMING MENTAL ACTS, playing games or doing business, and programs for computers;
- (d)presentations of information.
Başvuru ve temyiz sahibi açıklık itirazına uğrayan ifadelerin tarifnameden hareketle anlaşılır olduklarını ifade etmektedir. Ancak Temyiz Heyeti yargısına göre açıklık kusuru taşıyan ifadelerin tarifnameden hareketle anlaşılabilir olması istemdeki kusuru kaldırmamaktadır. T 49/99 karar kısmı madde 12 ve T 1129/97 karar kısmı madde 2.1.2’den hareketle istemlerin kendi içlerinde açık olmaları gerekmektedir.
Aynı şekilde “submit business transactions … to form Aggregates representing a snapshot of the IT elements for a path”, ifadesi açık bulunmamıştır.