The Innovation

This patent application concerns a method for providing a graphical user interactive interface for asset health management. It encompasses identifying knowledge modules associated with asset health management, providing a scenario generation component, evaluating knowledge modules to derive interactive game interface data, generating an asset health management scenario, and updating the scenario based on user interactions.

Technical Contribution

The Board of Appeal analyzed the invention’s technical contribution by separating the method’s components into an algorithm (excluding the use of a “graphical user interactive interface” and “action plans interfaces”) and the use of these interfaces. The algorithm involves generating an “asset health management scenario” and updating it based on user actions, which the Board considered a non-technical scheme of handling information related to assets. The Board stated, “Therefore the algorithm does not go beyond a specific scheme of handling information relating to assets, presenting it to a user, allowing the user to interact with the scheme and updating the scheme in response to the user action’s and in the board’s view the algorithm is – as held by the examining division in its decision – per se devoid of technical character.” (Reasons no. 2.2)

Despite the applicant’s argument that asset health management is a technical task, the Board concluded that the algorithm does not involve technical considerations or require technical means for its implementation. The decision emphasized that the technical character of the claimed method resided only in the technical implementation of the teaching method using a graphical user interface (GUI) and action plans interfaces.

Key Findings

• Algorithm for generating and updating asset health management scenario – non-technical
• Use of graphical user interactive interface (GUI) and action plan interfaces – technical

Read the full decision here: T 0417/20