Some inventions cannot be patented. According to the WIPO this is necessary ‘in order to strike the right balance between the interests of the right holders, third parties and the public’. According to Article 53 of the European Patent Convention (EPC) European patents shall not be granted in respect of inventions the commercial exploitation of which would be contrary to “ordre public” or morality (..); plant or animal varieties or essentially biological processes for the production of plants or animals; (…) methods for treatment of the human or animal body by surgery or therapy and diagnostic methods practised on the human or animal body.
Following decision G 1/03, the Board concluded that a disclaimer that is used to remove subject-matter falling under the prohibition of Article 53(a) EPC in combination with Rule 28(c) EPC, is allowable. The full summary of this case has been published on Kluwer IP Law.
The Examining Division had refused a patent application for a method and system of processing a payment card transaction. Before the Board of Appeal, the applicant requested suspension of the proceedings to await the opinion of the Enlarged Board of Appeal in G 3/08. The Board of Appeal refused to grant the requested suspension, because…
The invention related to text mining using mathematical techniques such that information can be presented in a way that can be more easily understood or evaluated by a user. The Board of Appeal noted that it is a fundamental question whether such an invention is within a field of technology. It can hardly be regarded…
The Board reversed a refusal of the patent application for lack of technical contribution. The underlying decision had expressed the view that the idea of making chance encounters depend on time was a game rule, which is itself excluded from patentability and had been implemented in straightforward manner. In its classical sense game rules form…
In this case the Court confirmed beyond any doubt that the Polish Patent Office is not an administrative body that shall automatically approve patents granted by the European Patent Office. However, the Patent Office may not base its decision solely on its own convictions and the views expressed in the judgment of a British Court…
The Federal Court of Justice clarified the interdependencies of its case law concerning computer implemented inventions. An application has technical character if a non technical feature is inserted in a technical process. The comprehensive inspection of the object of the application does not allow discretionary weighing of technical and nontechnical parts. Due to the exemption…
