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You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office Decisions >> Schlumberger Holdings Limited (Patent) [2006] UKIntelP o18506 (7 July 2006) URL: http://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKIntelP/2006/o18506.html Cite as: [2006] UKIntelP o18506 |
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For the whole decision click here: o18506
Summary
The application was directed to a method of operating a perforating gun in a subterranean well, in which the shaped charges in the gun extended only partially around the longitudinal axis of the gun and the gun was oriented to direct the charges away from a water barrier between the gun and the well casing. The hearing officer upheld the examiners objection that the invention was obvious in relation to two documents showing similar arrangements, but with no clear indication that water was present. In the light of three further documents found by the examiner after hearing, the hearing officer further held that the objection would not be met by the applicants proposal to restrict the claims to the use of a gravity-operated swiveling mechanism to orient the gun. Each of the further documents, although again not clearly indicating that water was present, showed the use of such a swiveling mechanism to orient the shaped charges downward. The hearing officer gave the applicant a period of two months to amend.