Background Due to methods of treatment of the human or animal body being excluded from patentability in Europe, applicants are required to claim substances or compositions for use in a method of treatment instead. Thus, there is a need for the term “substances or...
Vegan Cheese Product Claim T 0629/22 concerned European patent no. 3422865 (subject-matter: vegan cheese and preparation thereof). The product claim was distinguished from the prior art according to the type and amount of starch used in the vegan cheese. However, the...
These provisions for “second medical use” also rely on the claims for use in a method of treatment being interpreted to include the physiological or technical effect of the treatment as being a functional feature of the claim. However, the interpretation...
Background In our article of January 2024, we reported that the opponent in the case underpinning the “plausibility” referral (G 2/21) had filed a petition for review of the referring board’s decision (T 116/18) by the Enlarged Board of Appeal. That petition is...
Priority Historically, the EPO have assessed formal entitlement to priority quite strictly. In scenarios where a priority application is filed by joint applicants, all of them, or their respective successors in title, must be named on the subsequent priority claiming...
The EPO fee changes effective 1 April 2024 (announced here) appear to be more than the usual inflationary increase of official fees. Rather, there appears to be a restructuring which, according to the EPO, will “include reductions for small companies and even the...
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