European Patent Office

T 2314/16 (Distributing rewards by assigning users to partial advertisement display areas/RAKUTEN) du 07.09.2020

Identifiant européen de la jurisprudence
ECLI:EP:BA:2020:T231416.20200907
Date de la décision
7 septembre 2020
Numéro de l'affaire
T 2314/16
Requête en révision de
-
Numéro de la demande
11800813.5
Langue de la procédure
Anglais
Distribution
Distribuées aux présidents et aux membres des chambres de recours (B)
Téléchargement
Décision en anglais
Versions JO
Aucun lien JO trouvé
Autres décisions pour cet affaire
-
Résumés pour cette décision
-
Titre de la demande
INFORMATION PROVIDING DEVICE, METHOD OF PROCESSING REWARD PAYMENT, REWARD PAYMENT PROCESSING PROGRAM, AND RECORDING MEDIUM WITH REWARD PAYMENT PROCESSING PROGRAM RECORDED THERON
Nom du demandeur
Rakuten, Inc.
Nom de l'opposant
-
Chambre
3.5.01
Sommaire
-
Mots-clés
Technical effect - reduced computational load (no - technical, but no embodiment to enable verification)
Inventive step - distributing rewards by assigning users to partial areas of an advertisement banner (yes
Inventive step - involves technical considerations of the web page system)
Exergue
The specification of the business method ended with how to determine the reward distribution ratio. The features of dividing the advertisement display area into partial areas and allocating each partial area to a user such that when the partial area is clicked on the user gets a reward, were based on technical considerations of the web page system. It was not motivated by any business considerations.
...
In order to come up with this idea, one needs to understand how a web site is built, and in particular how an image map works. Thus, this feature cannot be part of the non-technical requirements. Instead it is part of the solution that has to be evaluated for obviousness. (See point 2.10 of the reasons)

Order

For these reasons it is decided that:

1. The decision under appeal is set aside.

2. The case is remitted to the examining division with the order to grant a patent on the basis of the following documents:

- Claims 1 to 4 filed during the oral proceedings before the Board;

- Description: pages 3 to 5 (clean version) filed during the oral proceedings before the Board,

pages 1, 2, 11 to 57 filed on entry into the regional phase before the EPO;

- Drawings: sheets 1 to 8 filed on entry into the regional phase before the EPO.