European Patent Office

T 1054/96 (Transgenic plant/NOVARTIS) vom 13.10.1997

Europäischer Rechtsprechungsidentifikator
ECLI:EP:BA:1997:T105496.19971013
Datum der Entscheidung
13. Oktober 1997
Aktenzeichen
T 1054/96
Antrag auf Überprüfung von
-
Anmeldenummer
91810144.5
IPC-Klasse
A01N 63/00
Verfahrenssprache
Englisch
Verteilung
Im Amtsblatt des EPA veröffentlicht (A)
Amtsblattfassungen
Zusammenfassungen für diese Entscheidung
-
Bezeichnung der Anmeldung
Anti-pathogenically effective composition comprising lytic peptides and hydrolytic enzymes
Name des Antragstellers
NOVARTIS AG
Name des Einsprechenden
-
Kammer
3.3.04
Leitsatz

The following questions are referred to the Enlarged Board of Appeal for decision:

1. To what extent should the instances of the EPO examine an application in respect of whether the claims are allowable in view of the provision of Article 53(b) EPC that patents shall not be granted in respect of plant varieties or essentially biological processes for the production of plants, which provision does not apply to microbiological processes or the products thereof, and how should a claim be interpreted for this purpose?

2. Does a claim which relates to plants but wherein specific plant varieties are not individually claimed ipso facto avoid the prohibition on patenting in Article 53(b) EPC even though it embraces plant varieties?

3. Should the provisions of Article 64(2) EPC be taken into account when considering what claims are allowable?

4. Does a plant variety, in which each individual plant of that variety contains at least one specific gene introduced into an ancestral plant by recombinant gene technology, fall outside the provision of Article 53(b) EPC that patents shall not be granted in respect of plant varieties or essentially biological processes for the production of plants, which provision does not apply to microbiological processes or the products thereof?

Schlagwörter
Claims encompassing plant varieties
Genetically engineered plant varieties
Essentially biological processes for the production of plants
Varieties as products of microbiological processes
Contravention of prohibition of Article 53(b) EPC
Referral to Enlarged Board (yes)
Orientierungssatz
-

ORDER

For these reasons it is decided that:

The following questions are referred to the Enlarged Board of Appeal for decision:

1. To what extent should the instances of the EPO examine an application in respect of whether the claims are allowable in view of the provision of Article 53(b) EPC that patents shall not be granted in respect of plant varieties or essentially biological processes for the production of plants, which provision does not apply to microbiological processes or the products thereof, and how should a claim be interpreted for this purpose?

2. Does a claim which relates to plants but wherein specific plant varieties are not individually claimed ipso facto avoid the prohibition on patenting in Article 53(b) EPC even though it embraces plant varieties?

3. Should the provisions of Article 64(2) EPC be taken into account when considering what claims are allowable?

4. Does a plant variety, in which each individual plant of that variety contains at least one specific gene introduced into an ancestral plant by recombinant gene technology, fall outside the provision of Article 53(b) EPC that patents shall not be granted in respect of plant varieties or essentially biological processes for the production of plants, which provision does not apply to microbiological processes or the products thereof?