T 0594/01 (Alkylene glycols/SHELL) of 30.03.2004
- European Case Law Identifier
- ECLI:EP:BA:2004:T059401.20040330
- Date of decision
- 30 March 2004
- Case number
- T 0594/01
- Petition for review of
- -
- Application number
- 95907004.6
- IPC class
- C07C 29/10
- Language of proceedings
- English
- Distribution
- Distributed to board chairmen and members (B)
- Download
- Decision in English
- OJ versions
- No OJ links found
- Other decisions for this case
- -
- Abstracts for this decision
- -
- Application title
- Process for the preparation of alkylene glycols
- Applicant name
- SHELL INTERNATIONALE RESEARCH MAATSCHAPPIJ B.V.
- Opponent name
- THE DOW CHEMICAL COMPANY
- Board
- 3.3.01
- Headnote
- -
- Relevant legal provisions
- European Patent Convention Art 123(3) 1973European Patent Convention Art 54 1973European Patent Convention Art 56 1973
- Keywords
- Main request, first to third auxiliary request: novelty (no) - upper end of a range value overlapping the margin of uncertainty inherently associated with a prior disclosed experimental value
Fourth and fifth auxiliary request: inventive step (no) obvious solution - Catchword
- An experimental value in quantitative analytical chemistry cannot be dissociated from the margin of uncertainty attached to the measurement. When a specific experimental value is disclosed in an example of the prior art, seeking to distinguish the claimed subject-matter therefrom only in terms of an upper limit required to be "lower than" the experimental value must fail as the claimed subject-matter is still not distinguishable from the prior art within the margin of experimental error.
- Cited cases
- -
ORDER
For these reasons it is decided that:
The appeal is dismissed.