The use of a generally available tool (here: reverse sandwich assays) can involve an inventive step if the advantages pursued and provided by the invention do not materialize without further effort and if the skilled person would not have found (sufficient) motivation in the state of the art to consider that this tool was suitable and could be used without difficulty for the intended use.
Case date: 17 December 2019
Case number: X Zr 115/17
Court: Federal Court of Justice of Germany
A full summary of this case has been published on Kluwer IP Law.
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