G 0001/92 (Availability to the public) vom 18.12.1992

CONCLUSION

For these reasons, the Enlarged Board of Appeal, in answer to the questions put by the President of the EPO in the letter dated 30 December 1991 concludes that:

1. The chemical composition of a product is state of the art when the product as such is available to the public and can be analysed and reproduced by the skilled person, irrespective of whether or not particular reasons can be identified for analysing the composition.

2. The same principle applies mutatis mutandis to any other product.