Storage Computer Corp & Anor v Hitachi Data Systems Ltd

Storage Computer Corp & Anor v Hitachi Data Systems Ltd

The Court of Appeal held that the trial judge was entitled to find that claims 1 and 2 of the patent were obvious in light of the admitted prior art (Timsit and Ouchi) and the common general knowledge as evidenced by IBM 1. The combination of features in claim 1 did not involve an inventive step and would have been obvious to the skilled person. The appeal was therefore dismissed.

Parties
Appellant: Storage Computer Corporation; Appellant: Storage Computer UK Limited; Respondent: Hitachi Data Systems Ltd
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
30 July 2003
Procedural Posture
Civil Appeal / Judgment on Appeal
Outcome
appeal dismissed
Legal Topics
Patent Validity, Obviousness, Inventive Step, Prior Art, Appeal Procedure
Intellectual Property Patents Patent Validity Obviousness Inventive Step Prior Art Appeal Procedure

Case Brief

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Parties

Storage Computer Corporation

Appellant

Storage Computer UK Limited

Appellant

Hitachi Data Systems Ltd

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Civil Appeal / Judgment on Appeal

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether claims 1 and 2 of EP 0294287 are invalid for obviousness under section 1(1)(b) of the Patents Act 1977
  2. 2 Whether the trial judge erred in his approach to the obviousness analysis and the application of prior art

Ratio Decidendi

The Court of Appeal held that the trial judge was entitled to find that claims 1 and 2 of the patent were obvious in light of the admitted prior art (Timsit and Ouchi) and the common general knowledge as evidenced by IBM 1. The combination of features in claim 1 did not involve an inventive step and would have been obvious to the skilled person. The appeal was therefore dismissed.

Court Disposition

appeal dismissed

Orders

  • no order as to costs