Multichoice South Africa (Pty) Ltd v Barron and Another (P2002/10346) [2014] ZACCP 4; 2014 BIP 121 (CP) (3 December 2014)

Multichoice South Africa (Pty) Ltd v Barron and Another (P2002/10346) [2014] ZACCP 4; 2014 BIP 121 (CP) (3 December 2014)

The court found that the alleged limitation of direct interaction between the central server and the user's remote control is not present in claims 1 or 17, nor is it described in the specification. The claims are anticipated by the admitted prior art, and the invention would have been obvious at the priority date....

Source-derived case information.

Citation
[2014] ZACCP 4
Parties
Applicant: Multichoice South Africa (Pty) Ltd; Respondent: Ian Barron; Respondent: Jan Frederick Verster
Court
Court of the Commissioner of Patents
Jurisdiction
South Africa
Judgment Date
3 December 2014
Case Number
P2002/10346
Procedural Posture
Revocation Application / Judgment
Outcome
The patent is revoked and costs are awarded to the applicant.
Judges
J W Louw
Legal Topics
Patent Revocation, Novelty, Inventive Step, Insufficiency, Fair Basis
Intellectual Property Patent Revocation Novelty Inventive Step Insufficiency Fair Basis

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Summary, issues, holding and outcome

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Parties

Multichoice South Africa (Pty) Ltd

Applicant

Ian Barron

Respondent

Jan Frederick Verster

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Revocation Application / Judgment

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether claims 1 and 17 of South African Patent no. 2002/10346 lack novelty and inventive step.
  2. 2 Whether the specification sufficiently describes the invention to enable a person skilled in the art to perform it.
  3. 3 Whether claims 7 and 8 are fairly based on the matter disclosed in the specification.

Ratio Decidendi

The court found that the alleged limitation of direct interaction between the central server and the user's remote control is not present in claims 1 or 17, nor is it described in the specification. The claims are anticipated by the admitted prior art, and the invention would have been obvious at the priority date. The specification fails to sufficiently describe how the invention is to be performed, as required by the Patents Act. Claims 7 and 8, introduced by amendment, are not fairly based on the matter disclosed in the specification, as there is no reference to educational uses. Accordingly, the grounds for revocation are established.

Court Disposition

The patent is revoked and costs are awarded to the applicant.

Orders

  • South African Patent no. 2002/10346 is revoked.
  • The respondents are ordered to pay the applicant's costs of the application, including the qualifying fees of the applicant's expert witness, Prof. D. Schonfeld.