T 0301/87 (Alpha-interferons) vom 16.02.1989

1. When amendments are made to a patent during an opposition, Article 102(3) EPC requires consideration as to whether the amendments introduce any contravention of any requirement of the Convention, including Article 84 EPC; Article 102(3) EPC does not allow objections to be based upon Article 84 EPC, if such objections do not arise out of the amendments made (further to T 227/88, dated 15 December 1988) (cf. Point 3.7 of the reasons)

2. Variations in the construction within a class of genetic precursors, such as recombinant DNA molecules, claimed by a combination of structural limitations and functional tests are immaterial to the sufficiency of the disclosure provided the skilled person could reliably obtain members of the class without necessarily knowing in advance which member would thereby be made available (further to T 281/86 dated 27 January 1988) (cf. Point 4.5 of the reasons).

3. If an entity itself is disclosed to the skilled person, this does not necessarily mean that a component part is also disclosed for the purpose of priority if this is not envisaged directly and unambiguously as such, and requires considerable investigation to reveal its identity (cf. Point 6.3 of the reasons).

4. When priority is claimed for a European patent application, the publication of the content of the priority application in the interval between the filing of that application and the filing of the (final) European patent application cannot be used as state of the art against any claim in the latter application. However, if such publication goes beyond the content of a previously filed application and includes subject-matters not covered by the disclosure of that application, such disclosure may in principle be cited against any claim in the (final) European patent application relying on a priority date subsequent to the publication date (cf. Point 7.8 of the reasons).