1.4. Verification of the presence of an invention under Article 52(1) EPC

In T 258/03, OJ 2004, 575 (see also T 154/04, OJ 2008, 46), the board stated that the verification that claimed subject-matter is an invention within the meaning of Art. 52(1) EPC 1973 is, in principle, a prerequisite for the examination in respect of novelty, inventive step and industrial application, since these latter requirements were defined only for inventions (see Art. 54(1) EPC 1973, Art. 56 EPC 1973, and Art. 57 EPC 1973). The structure of the EPC therefore suggests that it should be possible to determine whether subject-matter was excluded under Art. 52(2) EPC 1973 without any knowledge of the state of the art (including common general knowledge).