Yesterday, in the case of Menasche Business Mercantile Ltd & anr v William Hill Organisation Ltd, the Court of Appeal gave a judgment that is of importance in cases where a patent can be implemented over the internet. It held that in such cases it was not a defence to patent infringement proceedings, under section 60(2) of the Patents Act 1977, for the supply of means to put the invention into effect, merely to show that the host computer which formed part of the patented invention was located outside the United Kingdom.
The patent
Menasche hold a UK patent for a gaming system comprising of a host computer that is interconnected with at least one remote terminal computer, together with software that enables the end users on the terminal computers to engage in interactive gaming. William Hill began operating a similar gaming system by supplying a program to its UK punters, usually by CD, which enabled their computers to act as terminals via the internet for another host computer.
