T 0279/21 (State-transition-controlled processing of objects/SWISS RE) vom 30.01.2024

Inventive step - workflow rules controlling tasks and tags labelling the states of the tasks (no
Inventive step - not technical)

The appellant considered that ... when [G 1/19] , e.g. at reasons, point 51, states that any technical effect going beyond the implementation of the process on a computer may be considered for inventive step, it means anything beyond a 1:1 mapping between the implementation and a step of the business method being implemented. In other words, any subject-matter that does not "map" to a step in the business method is technical.
The Board agrees that the "implementation" of a business method implies some sort of mapping between non-technical steps of the business method and their technical realisation. Decision G 1/19 has something to say about this mapping, at least in the forward direction, at point 51, when it rephrases the requirement for technical effect as "technical effect going beyond the simulation's straightforward or unspecified implementation on a standard computer system". Thus, even a 1:1 mapping might be inventive if it is not "straight-forward" (e.g. not standard programming or routine modification of the technical means used), or "unspecified" (e.g. not simply as "means for [carrying out the step]").
But, looking for a mapping from "implementation" to the step of a business method in the reverse direction does not make sense as the steps of the non-technical activity do not have to be specified explicitly. They would include any steps that the business person would come up with in a non-technical workflow. The way this is handled is by considering the mapping of the implementation to the effect of the step and to examine whether the effect has any technical character, or whether it would be covered by what the business person would consider as part of the non-technical process. This is, in other words, the standard COMVIK approach where one looks at the effect of a feature in order to pose a technical problem, which might simply be the implementation of the feature, for which the above-mentioned mapping in the forward direction meant in G 1/19 applies. (See Reasons 2.18)