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In reference to the patent: WO2002091307A9

A client just received a patent notice for the embedding a barcode in an email/web ticket.

Can this really be valid and/or not have prior art?

https://me2.ipo.gov.uk/p-ipsum/Case/ApplicationNumber/GB0317362.2

It seems so general and to have no novel invention but may it's me looking through 2015 glasses?

:

This is an international patent which claims a method for issuing over the internet a ticket, wherein the ticket contains a barcode in an image file format.

What's more, we have just received a letter from Ticketogo Limited inviting us to take a license and indicating that others have already done the same:

https://me2.ipo.gov.uk/p-ipsum/Case/ApplicationNumber/GB0317362.2

To a layman (non-legal person), this just seems such an "obvious" solution and I can't see how it could be patentable. Perhaps this is only naivety or hindsight.

I wonder if anyone else has had similar demands world wide?

And/or ideas about whether there is any prior art, or how we can show this is invalid, etc? Or even if it is indeed valid?

"A method for issuing a ticket to a user of a communication interface for communicating with a data server over a publicly accessible communication network (4) and formatting data received from the server (7) and of a printer (10) capable of printing information formatted by the communication interface, the method comprising: generating a code number for the ticket; formatting an image file of an image file format, the image file representing an image in that format of a bar code corresponding to the code number; and providing to the communication interface over the publicly accessible communication network (4) by means of a data server ticket data defining the appearance of a ticket, the ticket data including the image file."

Any ideas / thoughts?

Thank you.

https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=WO2002091307

Adrian Keeling-Look
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    The GB patent is GB2391101. – Adrian Keeling-Look Apr 20 '15 at 09:11
  • At present date you might be feeling that its obvious but was it obvious at the time of filing the patent?? you should look for legal help from a qualified attorney in this matter. Additionally please see if cause of action is of GB only if all actions are performed outside UK you can have some relief. you can also comeup with separate domains for UK and rest of the word which makes less costly licensing or royalty fee. – Pushpak Apr 20 '15 at 09:19
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    @Pushpak. Thank you for taking the time to reply.

    For ourselves, we can work around this patent and either embed an SVG or use a web font for the barcode but I asked the question here because this seems such a "broad" patent that has been filed in US, UK and other countries... that other ticketing applications might just find the fact that "attaching a barcode image in an emailed ticket or web page" to validate a ticket restrictive too.

    If there were prior art, then, that would help a whole class of web applications.

     – Adrian Keeling-Look Apr 20 '15 at 09:51
  • I understood your objectives but it seems that you are not comparing granted patent, above claims are of application only please see B code patent it has more specific claims and based on this please amend question. Patent is only applicable in UK. – Pushpak Apr 20 '15 at 10:28

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