T 0015/01 (Mystery Swine Disease/SDLO) vom 17.06.2004

1. The same priority right may be validly claimed in more than one European patent application; there is no exhaustion of priority rights (see points 25 to 41 of the reasons).

2. Rule 20(3) EPC does not apply in the context of universal successions in law. The universal successor of a patent applicant or patentee automatically acquires party status in proceedings pending before the European Patent Office (see points 4 to 12 of the reasons).

3. Neither Rule 57a nor Article 123(3) EPC is infringed if a patent proprietor files a separate set of claims for a specific contracting state in opposition proceedings in order to take into account that, due to a reservation made under Article 167(2)(a) EPC, product claims as granted would be considered invalid in this state (see points 17 to 21 of the reasons).