G 1/24 has now been issued, and concludes “The description and any drawings are always referred to when interpreting the claims, and not just in the case of unclarity or ambiguity.” With this simple proclamation, the Enlarged Board of Appeal (EBA) provides clear guidance on the fundamental issue of claim interpretation which has caused much…

We have long meant to write something about the need, or the lack thereof, for adapting the description to amended claims. The announcement in the second preliminary opinion of Technical Board of Appeal (TBA) 3.3.04 in T 56/21, suggesting a referral of this question to the Enlarged Board of Appeal, combined with the sole appellant’s…

The first decisions by the Central Division Munich, the Local Division Paris and the Local Division Düsseldorf adjudging a patent’s validity in main proceedings are now out. Taken together, they confirm the initial favourable impression from applications for provisional measures   and demonstrate that this Court is fully up to task. As regards validity, it…

Following months of speculation, EPO Board of Appeal 3.2.01 yesterday issued decision T 439/22 referring questions to the Enlarged Board of Appeal on the extent to which the description and drawings should be used in claim interpretation.   The claim feature at issue was: “in which the aerosol-forming substrate comprises a gathered sheet”. The key…

1.       Preamble: The Iron Triangle In project management there is a law known as the Iron Triangle, which states that in delivering any project, there are three points on a metaphorical triangle: time, cost and quality. In other words: how fast can the project be done; how cheaply; and what is the quality of the…