Skip to main content Skip to footer
HomeHome
 
  • Homepage
  • Searching for patents

    Patent knowledge

    Access our patent databases and search tools.

    Go to overview 

    • Overview
    • Technical information
      • Overview
      • Espacenet - patent search
      • European Publication Server
      • Searching Asian documents: patent search and monitoring services
      • EP full-text search
      • Bibliographic coverage in Espacenet and OPS
      • Full-text coverage in Espacenet and OPS
    • Legal information
      • Overview
      • European Patent Register
      • European Patent Bulletin
      • European Case Law Identifier sitemap
      • Searching Asian documents
      • Third-party observations
    • Business information
      • Overview
      • PATSTAT
      • IPscore
      • Patent insight reports
    • Data
      • Overview
      • Linked open EP data
      • Bulk data sets
      • Web services
      • Coverage, codes and statistics
    • Helpful resources
      • Overview
      • First time here?
      • Asian patent information
      • Patent information centres
      • Patent Translate
      • Patent Knowledge News
      • Business and statistics
      • Unitary Patent information in patent knowledge

    UP search

    Learn about the Unitary Patent in patent knowledge products and services

  • Applying for a patent

    Applying for a patent

    Practical information on filing and grant procedures.

    Go to overview 

    • Overview
    • European route
      • Overview
      • European Patent Guide
      • Oppositions
      • Oral proceedings
      • Appeals
      • Unitary Patent & Unified Patent Court
      • National validation
      • Request for extension/validation
    • International route (PCT)
      • Overview
      • Euro-PCT Guide – PCT procedure at the EPO
      • EPO decisions and notices
      • PCT provisions and resources
      • Extension/validation request
      • Reinforced partnership programme
      • Accelerating your PCT application
      • Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH)
      • Training and events
    • National route
    • MyEPO services
      • Overview
      • Understand our services
      • Get access
      • Find a professional representative
      • File with us
      • Interact on your files
      • Online Filing & fee payment outages
      • Tutorials
    • Forms
      • Overview
      • Request for examination
    • Fees
      • Overview
      • European fees (EPC)
      • International fees (PCT)
      • Unitary Patent fees (UP)
      • Fee payment and refunds
      • Warning

    UP

    Unitary Patent

  • Law & practice

    Law & practice

    European patent law, the Official Journal and other legal texts.

    Go to overview 

    • Overview
    • Legal texts
      • Overview
      • European Patent Convention
      • Official Journal
      • EPC Guidelines
      • PCT-EPO Guidelines
      • Guidelines revision cycle
      • Extension / validation system
      • London Agreement
      • National law relating to the EPC
      • Unitary patent system
      • National law relating to the UP
    • Court practices
      • Overview
      • European Patent Judges' Symposium
    • User consultations
      • Overview
      • Ongoing consultations
      • Completed consultations
    • Substantive patent law harmonisation
      • Overview
      • The Tegernsee process
      • Group B+
    • Convergence of practice
    • Options for professional representatives

    legal text

    Legal texts

  • News & events

    News & events

    Our latest news, podcasts and events, including the European Inventor Award.

    Go to overview 

     

    • Overview
    • News
    • Events
    • European Inventor Award
      • Overview
      • About the award
      • Categories and prizes
      • Meet the finalists
      • Nominations
      • Watch the 2022 ceremony
    • Press centre
      • Overview
      • Patent Index and statistics
      • Search in press centre
      • Background information
      • Copyright
      • Press contacts
      • Call back form
      • Email alert service
    • Innovation and patenting in focus
      • Overview
      • Firefighting technologies
      • Green tech in focus
      • CodeFest on Green Plastics
      • Clean energy technologies
      • IP and youth
      • Research institutes
      • Women inventors
      • Fighting coronavirus
      • Lifestyle
      • Space and satellites
      • The future of medicine
      • Materials science
      • Mobile communications
      • Biotechnology
      • Patent classification
      • Digital technologies
      • The future of manufacturing
      • Books by EPO experts
    • "Talk innovation" podcast

    Podcast

    Listen to our podcast

  • Learning

    Learning

    The e-Academy – the point of access to your learning

    Go to overview 

    • Overview
    • European Patent Academy
      • Overview
      • Learning activities
      • Learning paths
    • Professional hub
      • Overview
      • EQE - European qualifying examination
      • EPAC - European patent administration certification
    • Learning resources by area of interest
      • Overview
      • Patent granting
      • Technology transfer and dissemination
      • Patent enforcement and litigation
    • Learning resources by area by profile
      • Overview
      • Business and IP managers
      • EQE candidates
      • Judges, lawyers and prosecutors
      • National offices and IP authorities
      • Patent attorneys and paralegals
      • Universities, research centres and technology transfer centres (TTOs)

    European Patent Academy

    Boost your IP knowledge with (e-)training from the European Patent Academy

  • About us

    About us

    Find out more about our work, values, history and vision

    Go to overview 

    • Overview
    • The EPO at a glance
    • 50 years of the EPC
      • Overview
      • A glimpse of the planned activities
      • Kids’ collaborative art competition
      • 50 Leading Tech Voices
    • Legal foundations and member states
      • Overview
      • Legal foundations
      • Member states of the European Patent Organisation
      • Extension states
      • Validation states
    • Governance
      • Overview
      • Communiqués
      • Calendar
      • Select Committee documents
      • Administrative Council
    • Principles & strategy
      • Overview
      • Our mission, vision, values and corporate policy
      • Public consultation on the EPO's Strategic Plan 2028
      • Towards a New Normal
    • Leadership & management
      • Overview
      • President António Campinos
      • Management Advisory Committee
    • Social responsibility
      • Overview
      • Environment and sustainability
      • Art collection
    • Services & activities
      • Overview
      • Our services & structure
      • Consulting our users
      • European and international co-operation
      • European Patent Academy
      • Chief Economist
      • Ombuds Office
      • Reporting wrongdoing
    • Procurement
      • Overview
      • Procurement forecast
      • Doing business with the EPO
      • Procurement procedures
      • About eTendering and electronic signatures
      • Procurement portal
      • Invoicing
      • General conditions
      • Archived tenders
    • Transparency portal
      • Overview
      • General
      • Human
      • Environmental
      • Organisational
      • Social and relational
      • Economic
      • Governance
    • Statistics and trends
      • Overview
      • Statistics & Trends Centre
      • EPO Data Hub
      • Clarification on data sources
    • History
      • Overview
      • 1970s
      • 1980s
      • 1990s
      • 2000s
      • 2010s
      • 2020s

    about us

    Patent Index 2022

 
en de fr
  • Language selection
  • English
  • Deutsch
  • Français
Main navigation
  • Homepage
  • New to patents
    • Go back
    • Overview
    • What's your big idea?
    • Are you ready?
    • What to expect
    • How to apply for a patent
    • Your business and patents
    • Is it patentable?
    • Are you first?
    • Why do we have patents?
    • Patent quiz
    • Unitary patent video
  • Searching for patents
    • Go back
    • Overview
    • Technical information
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Espacenet - patent search
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • National patent office databases
        • Global Patent Index (GPI)
        • Release notes
      • European Publication Server
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Cross-reference index for Euro-PCT applications
        • EP authority file
        • Help
      • Searching Asian documents
      • EP full-text search
      • Bibliographic coverage in Espacenet and OPS
      • Full-text coverage in Espacenet
    • Legal information
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • European Patent Register
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Release notes archive
        • Register documentation
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Deep link data coverage
          • Federated Register
            • Go back
            • Overview
            • BG - Federated Register Service
            • GB - Federated Register Service
            • NL - Federated Register Service
            • MK - Federated Register Service
            • ES - Federated Register Service
            • GR - Federated Register Service
            • SK - Federated Register Service
            • FR - Federated Register Service
            • MT - Federated Register Service
          • Register events
      • European Patent Bulletin
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Download Bulletin
        • EP Bulletin search
        • Help
      • European Case Law Identifier sitemap
      • Searching Asian documents
      • Third-party observations
    • Business information
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • PATSTAT
      • IPscore
        • Go back
        • Release notes
      • Patent insight reports
    • Data
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Linked open EP data
      • Bulk data sets
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Manuals
        • Sequence listings
        • National full-text data
        • European Patent Register data
        • EPO worldwide bibliographic data (DOCDB)
        • EP full-text data
        • EPO worldwide legal event data (INPADOC)
        • EP bibliographic data (EBD)
          • Go back
          • EBD files (weekly download) - free of charge
            • Go back
            • Secure EBD ST.36 files (weekly download) - for national patent offices only
        • Boards of Appeal decisions
        • EP full-text data for text analytics
      • Web services
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Open Patent Services (OPS)
        • European Publication Server
      • Coverage, codes and statistics
        • Go back
        • Weekly updates
        • Updated regularly
    • Helpful resources
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • First time here? Patent information explained.
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Basic definitions
        • Patent classification
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC)
        • Patent families
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • DOCDB simple patent family
          • INPADOC extended patent family
        • Legal event data
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • INPADOC classification scheme
      • Asian patent information
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • China (CN)
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Facts and figures
          • Grant procedure
          • Numbering system
          • Useful terms
          • Searching in databases
        • Chinese Taipei (TW)
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Grant procedure
          • Numbering system
          • Useful terms
          • Searching in databases
        • India (IN)
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Facts and figures
          • Grant procedure
          • Numbering system
        • Japan (JP)
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Facts and figures
          • Grant procedure
          • Numbering system
          • Useful terms
          • Searching in databases
        • Korea (KR)
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Facts and figures
          • Grant procedure
          • Numbering system
          • Useful terms
          • Searching in databases
        • Russian Federation (RU)
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Facts and figures
          • Numbering system
          • Searching in databases
        • Useful links
      • Patent information centres (PATLIB)
      • Patent Translate
      • Patent Knowledge News
      • Business and statistics
      • Unitary Patent information in patent knowledge
  • Applying for a patent
    • Go back
    • Overview
    • European route
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • European Patent Guide
      • Oppositions
      • Oral proceedings
        • Go back
        • Oral proceedings calendar
          • Go back
          • Calendar
          • Public access to appeal proceedings
          • Public access to opposition proceedings
          • Technical guidelines
      • Appeals
      • Unitary Patent & Unified Patent Court
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Unitary Patent
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Legal framework
          • Unitary Patent Guide
          • Main features
          • Applying for a Unitary Patent
          • Cost of a Unitary Patent
          • Translation and compensation
          • Start date
        • Unified Patent Court
      • National validation
      • Extension/validation request
    • International route
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Euro-PCT Guide
      • Entry into the European phase
      • Decisions and notices
      • PCT provisions and resources
      • Extension/validation request
      • Reinforced partnership programme
      • Accelerating your PCT application
      • Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH)
        • Go back
        • Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) programme outline
      • Training and events
    • National route
    • MyEPO services
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Understand our services
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Online Filing 2.0 pilot
        • MyEPO Portfolio - pilot phase
        • Online Filing 2.0 pilot continuation
        • Exchange data with us using an API
      • Get access
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Installation and activation
      • Find a professional representative
      • File with us
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • What if our online filing services are down?
        • Release notes
      • Interact on your files
      • Online Filing & fee payment outages
      • Tutorials
    • Fees
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • European fees (EPC)
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Decisions and notices
      • International fees (PCT)
        • Go back
        • Reduction in fees
        • Fees for international applications
        • Decisions and notices
        • Overview
      • Unitary Patent fees (UP)
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Decisions and notices
      • Fee payment and refunds
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Payment methods
        • Getting started
        • FAQs and other documentation
        • Technical information for batch payments
        • Decisions and notices
        • Release notes
      • Warning
    • Forms
      • Go back
      • Request for examination
  • Law & practice
    • Go back
    • Overview
    • Legal texts
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • European Patent Convention
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Archive
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Documentation on the EPC revision 2000
            • Go back
            • Overview
            • Diplomatic Conference for the revision of the EPC
            • Travaux préparatoires
            • New text
            • Transitional provisions
            • Implementing regulations to the EPC 2000
            • Rules relating to Fees
            • Ratifications and accessions
          • Travaux Préparatoires EPC 1973
      • Official Journal
      • EPC Guidelines
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Archive
      • PCT-EPO Guidelines
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Archive
      • Guidelines revision cycle
      • Extension / validation system
      • London Agreement
      • National law relating to the EPC
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Archive
      • Unitary Patent system
      • National measures relating to the Unitary Patent 
    • Court practices
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • European Patent Judges' Symposium
    • User consultations
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Ongoing consultations
      • Completed consultations
    • Substantive patent law harmonisation
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • The Tegernsee process
      • Group B+
    • Convergence of practice
    • Options for professional representatives
  • News & events
    • Go back
    • Overview
    • News
    • Events
    • European Inventor Award
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • About the award
      • Categories and prizes
      • Meet the finalists
      • Nominations
      • Watch the 2023 ceremony
      • European Inventor Network
        • Go back
        • Activities granted in 2023
    • Press centre
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Patent Index and statistics
      • Search in press centre
      • Background information
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • European Patent Office
        • Q&A on patents related to coronavirus
        • Q&A on plant patents
      • Copyright
      • Press contacts
      • Call back form
      • Email alert service
    • In focus
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Firefighting technologies
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Detection and prevention of fires
        • Fire extinguishing
        • Protective equipment
        • Post-fire restoration
      • Green tech in focus
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • About green tech
        • Renewable energies
        • Energy transition technologies
        • Building a greener future
      • CodeFest on Green Plastics
      • Clean energy technologies
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Renewable energy
        • Carbon-intensive industries
        • Energy storage and other enabling technologies
      • IP and youth
      • Research institutes
      • Women inventors
      • Fighting coronavirus
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Vaccines and therapeutics
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Vaccines
          • Overview of candidate therapies for COVID-19
          • Candidate antiviral and symptomatic therapeutics
          • Nucleic acids and antibodies to fight coronavirus
        • Diagnostics and analytics
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Protein and nucleic acid assays
          • Analytical protocols
        • Informatics
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Bioinformatics
          • Healthcare informatics
        • Technologies for the new normal
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Devices, materials and equipment
          • Procedures, actions and activities
          • Digital technologies
        • Inventors against coronavirus
      • Lifestyle
      • Space and satellites
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Patents and space technologies
      • Healthcare
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Medical technologies and cancer
        • Personalised medicine
      • Materials science
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Nanotechnology
      • Mobile communications
      • Biotechnology
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Red, white or green
        • The role of the EPO
        • What is patentable?
        • Biotech inventors
      • Classification
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Nanotechnology
        • Climate change mitigation technologies
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • External partners
          • Updates on Y02 and Y04S
      • Digital technologies
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • About ICT
        • Hardware and software
        • Patents and standards
        • Artificial intelligence
        • Fourth Industrial Revolution
      • Additive manufacturing
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • About AM
        • AM innovation
      • Books by EPO experts
    • Podcast
  • Learning
    • Go back
    • Overview
    • European Patent Academy
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Learning activities
      • Learning Paths
    • Professional hub
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • EPAC - European patent administration certification
      • EQE - European Qualifying Examination
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Archive
        • Candidates successful in the European qualifying examination
        • Compendium
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Pre-examination
          • Paper A
          • Paper B
          • Paper C
          • Paper D
    • Learning resources by area of interest
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Patent granting
      • Technology transfer and dissemination
      • Patent enforcement and litigation
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Patent enforcement in Europe
        • Patent litigation in Europe
    • Learning resources by profile
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Business and IP managers
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Innovation case studies
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • SME case studies
          • Technology transfer case studies
          • High-growth technology case studies
        • Inventors' handbook
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Introduction
          • Disclosure and confidentiality
          • Novelty and prior art
            • Go back
            • Overview
            • Is the idea ‘obvious’?
            • Prior art searching
            • Professional patent searching
            • Simple Espacenet searching
            • What is prior art?
            • Why is novelty important?
          • Competition and market potential
            • Go back
            • Overview
            • Research guidelines
          • Assessing the risk ahead
            • Go back
            • Overview
            • Exploitation routes
            • Significant commercial potential
            • Significant novelty
            • What about you?
            • What if your idea is not novel but does have commercial potential?
          • Proving the invention
            • Go back
            • Overview
            • Help with design or redesign
            • Prototype strategy
          • Protecting your idea
            • Go back
            • Overview
            • Forms of IPR
            • Patenting strategy
            • The patenting process
          • Building a team and seeking funding
            • Go back
            • Overview
            • Building a team
            • Sources of funding
            • Sources of help for invention
          • Business planning
            • Go back
            • Overview
            • Constructing a business plan
            • Keep it short!
          • Finding and approaching companies
            • Go back
            • Overview
            • First contact
            • Meetings
          • Dealing with companies
            • Go back
            • Overview
            • Advance or guaranteed payment
            • Companies and your prototype
            • Full agreement – and beyond
            • Negotiating a licensing agreement
            • Reaching agreement
            • Royalties
        • Best of search matters
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Tools and databases
          • EPO procedures and initiatives
          • Search strategies
          • Challenges and specific topics
        • Support for high-growth technology businesses
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • For IP professionals
          • For business decision-makers
          • For stakeholders of the innovation ecosystem
        • IP clinics
      • EQE Candidates
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Coffee-break questions
        • Daily D questions
        • European qualifying examination - Guide for preparation
      • Judges, lawyers and prosecutors
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Compulsory licensing in Europe
        • The jurisdiction of European courts in patent disputes
      • National offices and IP authorities
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Learning material for examiners of national officers
        • Learning material for formalities officers and paralegals
      • Patent attorneys and paralegals
      • Universities, research centres and TTOs
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Academic Research Programme
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Completed research projects
          • Current research projects
        • Pan-European Seal Young Professionals Programme
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • For students
          • For universities
            • Go back
            • Overview
            • IP education resources
            • University memberships
          • Our young professionals
          • Professional development plan
        • IP Teaching Kit
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Download modules
        • Intellectual property course design manual
  • About us
    • Go back
    • Overview
    • The EPO at a glance
    • 50 years of the EPC
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • 50 Leading Tech Voices
      • Kids’ collaborative art competition
    • Legal foundations and member states
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Legal foundations
      • Member states
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Member states by date of accession
      • Extension states
      • Validation states
    • Governance
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Communiqués
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • 2022
        • 2021
        • 2020
        • 2019
        • 2018
        • 2017
        • 2016
        • 2015
        • 2014
        • 2013
      • Calendar
      • Documents and publications
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Select Committee documents
      • Administrative Council
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Composition
        • Representatives
        • Rules of Procedure
        • Board of Auditors
        • Secretariat
        • Council bodies
    • Principles & strategy
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Mission, vision, values & corporate policy
      • Strategic Plan 2028
      • Towards a New Normal
      • Data protection & privacy notice
    • Leadership & management
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • About the President
      • Management Advisory Committee
    • Procurement
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Procurement forecast
      • Doing business with the EPO
      • Procurement procedures
      • About eTendering
      • Procurement portal
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • e-Signing contracts
      • Invoicing
      • General conditions
      • Archived tenders
    • Services & activities
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Our services & structure
      • Quality
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Foundations
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • European Patent Convention
          • Guidelines for examination
          • Our staff
        • Enabling quality
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Prior art
          • Classification
          • Tools
          • Processes
        • Products & services
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Search
          • Examination
          • Opposition
          • Continuous improvement
        • Quality through networking
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • User engagement
          • Co-operation
          • User satisfaction survey
          • Stakeholder Quality Assurance Panels
        • Patent Quality Charter
        • Statistics
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Search
          • Examination
          • Opposition
      • Consulting our users
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Standing Advisory Committee before the EPO (SACEPO)
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Objectives
          • SACEPO and its working parties
          • Meetings
          • Single Access Portal – SACEPO Area
      • Our user service charter
      • European and international co-operation
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Co-operation with member states
          • Go back
          • Overview
        • Bilateral co-operation with non-member states
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Validation system
          • Reinforced Partnership programme
        • Multilateral international co-operation with IP offices and organisations
        • Co-operation with international organisations outside the IP system
      • European Patent Academy
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Partners
      • Chief Economist
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Economic studies
      • Ombuds Office
      • Reporting wrongdoing
    • Statistics and trends
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Statistics & Trends Centre
      • EPO Data Hub
      • Clarification on data sources
    • Social responsibility
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Environment
      • Art collection
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • The collection
        • Let's talk about art
        • Artists
        • Media library
        • What's on
        • Publications
        • Contact
    • History
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • 1970s
      • 1980s
      • 1990s
      • 2000s
      • 2010s
      • 2020s
    • Transparency portal
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • General
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Annual Review 2022
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Foreword
          • Executive summary
          • Goal 1: Engaged and empowered
          • Goal 2: Digital transformation
          • Goal 3: Master quality
          • Goal 4: Partner for positive impact
          • Goal 5: Secure sustainability
      • Human
      • Environmental
      • Organisational
      • Social and relational
      • Economic
      • Governance
  • Boards of Appeal
    • Go back
    • Overview
    • Decisions of the Boards of Appeal
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Recent decisions
      • Selected decisions
    • Procedure
    • Annual reports
      • Go back
      • Overview
    • Organisation
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • President of the Boards of Appeal
      • Enlarged Board of Appeal
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Pending referrals (Art. 112 EPC)
        • Decisions sorted by number (Art. 112 EPC)
        • Pending petitions for review (Art. 112a EPC)
        • Decisions on petitions for review (Art. 112a EPC)
      • Technical Boards of Appeal
      • Legal Board of Appeal
      • Disciplinary Board of Appeal
      • Presidium
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Composition of the Presidium
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Archive
    • Code of Conduct
    • Business distribution scheme
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Technical boards of appeal by IPC in 2023
      • Archive
    • Annual list of cases
    • Communications
    • Publications
    • Case Law of the Boards of Appeal
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Archive
    • Case Law from the Contracting States to the EPC
    • Oral proceedings
  • Service & support
    • Go back
    • Overview
    • Website updates
    • Availability of online services
      • Go back
      • Overview
    • FAQ
      • Go back
      • Overview
    • Publications
    • Ordering
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Terms and conditions
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Patent information products
        • Bulk data sets
        • Open Patent Services (OPS)
        • Fair use charter
    • Procedural communications
    • Useful links
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Patent offices of member states
      • Other patent offices
      • Legal resources
      • Directories of patent attorneys
      • Patent databases, registers and gazettes
      • Disclaimer
    • Contact us
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Filing options
      • Locations
      • Specific contact
      • Surveys
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Search services
        • Examination services, final actions and publication
        • Opposition services
        • Patent filings
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Detailed methodology
          • Archive
        • Online Services
        • Patent information
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Innovation process survey
        • Customer services
        • Filing services
        • Website
        • Survey on electronic invoicing
        • Companies innovating in clean and sustainable technologies
    • Subscription centre
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Subscribe
      • Change preferences
      • Unsubscribe
    • Official holidays
    • Forums
    • Glossary
Board of Appeals
Decisions

Recent decisions

Overview
  • 2023 decisions
  • 2022 decisions
  • 2021 decisions
https://www.epo.org/en/node/t061029eu1
  1. Home
  2. T 1029/06 (Environmental impact estimation/TOSHIBA) 22-04-2009
Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email

T 1029/06 (Environmental impact estimation/TOSHIBA) 22-04-2009

European Case Law Identifier
ECLI:EP:BA:2009:T102906.20090422
Date of decision
22 April 2009
Case number
T 1029/06
Petition for review of
-
Application number
02258945.1
IPC class
G06F 17/60
Language of proceedings
EN
Distribution
NO DISTRIBUTION (D)

Download and more information:

Decision in EN 32.17 KB
Documentation of the appeal procedure can be found in the European Patent Register
Bibliographic information is available in:
EN
Versions
Unpublished
Application title

Environmental impact estimation method and apparatus

Applicant name
KABUSHIKI KAISHA TOSHIBA
Opponent name
-
Board
3.5.01
Headnote
-
Relevant legal provisions
European Patent Convention Art 52(1)
European Patent Convention Art 52(2)
European Patent Convention Art 52(3)
European Patent Convention Art 56 1973
Keywords

Environmental impact estimation steps - excluded from patentability (yes)

Displaying icons - inventive (no)

Catchword
-
Cited decisions
T 0208/84
T 0953/94
T 0154/04
T 0388/04
T 0365/05
T 1147/05
T 1227/05
Citing decisions
T 0489/14
T 0489/14
T 0489/14
T 0489/14

I. This appeal is against the decision of the examining division to refuse the European patent application on the ground that the subject-matter of claim 1 of the main request was not inventive (Article 56 EPC 1973) over US-A-5 652 708 (called D3 at point I.6 in the decision under appeal). In an "Obiter Dictum" at point IV, the examining division stated that the amendments to claims 1 and 7 of the first and second auxiliary requests did not introduce anything beyond what had been considered as not inventive. These requests were therefore refused under Rule 86(3) EPC 1973.

II. The appellant requested that the decision under appeal be set aside and that a patent be granted on the basis of the main, first, or second auxiliary request before the examining division, or the third auxiliary request filed with the statement setting out the grounds of appeal. The appellant also made an auxiliary request for oral proceedings.

III. In the communication accompanying the summons to oral proceedings, the Board summarised the issues to be discussed and expressed doubts about the clarity of the claims as well as whether they had technical character and/or involved an inventive step.

IV. In a response, it was stated that the appellant would not be represented at the oral proceedings.

V. At the oral proceedings, which took place in the appellant's absence, the Board discussed the case and the Chairman announced the decision.

VI. Claim 1 of the main request reads as follows:

"An environmental impact estimation method comprising:

storing information related to reuse objects and recycle objects in a memory unit (18);

performing life cycle modeling to make a life cycle model, the life cycle modeling including reading the information related to the reuse objects and the recycle objects from the memory unit;

predicting recovery distribution of products used as the reuse objects; and

evaluating an environmental impact and a cost to bear in reuse or recycle based on prediction results obtained by the predicting; characterized in that

the object information stored is related to reuse objects and recycle objects of previous generation products every production period thereof;

in that the life cycle modeling is performed to determine some of the reuse objects and the recycle objects which enable to be diverted to a new product from the previous generation products using the read object information; and

in that the predicting predicts a product recovery quantity at an arbitrary time point using a superposition distribution of two recovery quantity distributions defined by a recovery quantity and each of a product worth life and a product useful life."

Claim 1 of the first auxiliary request adds to the end of claim 1 of the main request "the product worth life corresponding to a period during which the product maintains its value for a product user".

Claim 1 of the second auxiliary request adds to the end of claim 1 of the first auxiliary request "and the product useful life corresponding to a period during which a product maintains a failure rate smaller than a predetermined failure rate demanded for the product".

In claim 1 of the third auxiliary request, the words "and recycle objects" have been deleted from the first feature. The characterising part has been replaced by:

" the object information stored is related to reuse objects and recycle objects of previous generation products manufactured in every production period;

in that the life cycle model represents which reuse objects of the previous generation products should be diverted to which next generation product based on the information read out from the memory, the life cycle modelling including displaying icons representing the reuse objects and the next generation product on a display device and designating which reuse object is diverted to which of the next generation products by referring to displayed icons; and

in that the recovery distribution prediction comprises predicting a product recovery quantity using a superposition distribution of two recovery quantity distributions defined by a recovery quantity and each of a product worth life and a product useful life, the product worth life corresponding to a period during which the product maintains its value for a product user; and by

calculating a time-dependent balance between the supply of reuse products and the demand for new products, based on the result of the life cycle modelling and the product recovery quantity."

VII. The appellant argued essentially as follows:

The invention contained an inventive step in a field which was not excluded from patentability. With the present invention, a product recovery quantity at an arbitrary time point was predicted using a super-position distribution of two recovery quantity distributions defined by a recovery quantity and each of a product worth life and a product useful life. As a result of this, a truer recovery quantity prediction could be obtained. Whilst the invention used mathematical modelling, the quantities being processed represented real life objects and processes, and the result of the prediction was used in the overall manufacturing process. Further, it was implicit from the claim that there had to be some form of user interface and interaction.

It would be out of line with the progression of case law from VICOM onwards, to refuse these claims. Physical processes controlled by mathematical methods were normally allowable, as for example in decision T 953/94. The Board of Appeal in that case found allowable a method of controlling a physical process based on analysing a functional relationship between two parameters of the physical process. Various sets of lines were displayed on the screen of a VDU, and then control signals for adjusting a parameter were generated, as a result of studying the various sets of lines. There seemed to be a sufficiently close correspondence of the facts of that case with the facts of the present case to be able to draw a useful analogy. Both were involved in manufacturing processes, and both involved user interaction.

The claims of the first and second auxiliary requests defined the product worth life and product useful life more clearly.

The independent claims of the third auxiliary request specified that the life cycle model represented which reuse objects of the previous generation products should be diverted to which next generation product, based on the information read out from memory. It further specified using icons to represent the reuse objects and the next generation products, and to designate which reuse object was diverted to which next generation product. It further specified at the end of each claim the calculation of a time-dependent balance between supply and demand, based on the result of the life-cycle modelling and the product recovery quantity. These features were not disclosed in the available prior art and made an additional inventive technical contribution.

With the benefit of this invention, an operator, using the display, could designate visually which reuse object was to be diverted to which next generation product, and the operator could determine the supply-demand balance. Accordingly, the invention included the machine-operator interface which was inherent in the manufacturing process.

The invention

1. The application concerns aiding planning, development, design and estimation of an environmentally conscious product (see paragraph [0001] of the application). In particular, a method of estimating the impact on the environment and the cost of developing multi-generation products (e.g. a computer or a display - products B and C in Figure 3) that reuse and recycle objects from products of previous generations (e.g. the 14-inch display or the "main body" from product A).

2. According to Figure 2, the method has the following basic steps:

(a) Producing a life cycle model (Figure 3) that determines which parts of the previous generation product can be reused/recycled in the next generation (see paragraphs [0037],[0038],[0059]).

(b) Predicting the number of products to be manufactured and the number of reused and recycled parts (paragraphs [0039] to [0041],[0060]).

(c) Evaluating the environmental impact, e.g. of CO2 emissions, and cost of manufacturing the products and reusing/recycling old parts (paragraphs [0042] to [0045],[0061],[0062]).

(d) Displaying the total cost and CO2 emissions (Figure 7 and paragraphs [0046],[0063]).

3. The Board understands the main aspects of the invention to be the idea that the life cycle model must be applied to multi-generation products in order to take into account the effect of reuse and recycling of previous products (paragraph [0017]), and the specific approximation used to predict the number of products available for reuse and recycling ("recovery quantity distribution" - grounds of appeal, page 2, paragraph 1). The latter is approximated to be a superposition of two distributions with peaks at the product worth life and the product useful life, respectively, measured from the time of peak production (Figure 6b). The product worth life corresponds to a period during which the product maintains its value for a product user. The product useful life corresponds to a period during which a product maintains a failure rate smaller than a failure rate that is demanded. The product useful life and product worth life are determined for each product by a user of this system (the person designing and developing the product to be evaluated) based on real conditions and experience (paragraph [0053]).

4. The recovery quantity distribution is used to predict the number of parts that will be available for reuse and recycling in future products. This information, together with the costs of production, reuse and recycling, is used to estimate the overall cost of the product. The same applies to the estimation of the overall impact of the product on the environment (paragraphs [0061],[0062]). Figure 7 shows that the reuse leads to an approximate 10% saving in cost and CO2 emissions (paragraph [0063]).

5. The third auxiliary request introduces the concepts of allowing a visual designation of reuse objects and associated next generation products and of obtaining an accurate prediction of reuse/recycling of old products to enable a "time-dependent balance" between the parts/materials obtained and the demand in new products of the next generation (paragraphs [0013],[0019] to [0021], and grounds of appeal, end).

Main request

6. The Board first notes that it is not particularly clear what the object of method claim 1 is, nor how this is achieved. Firstly, claim 1 is for an "environmental impact estimation method", but the fourth step introduces the idea of estimating the cost. Secondly, the method only mentions the environmental impact/cost of the reuse/recycling, but not the manufacturing of the product itself, which appears to be an important parameter in the overall process. Finally, the wording of the critical feature of the prediction of the recovery quantity distribution is also not clear.

7. However, even if one were to interpret the claims in the light of the overall disclosure of the application given above, the majority of the steps (life cycle modelling, predicting, evaluating) are typical tools of operational research that normally have not been considered technical in the established jurisprudence, in particular if only information is processed for the purpose of management decisions with no clear technical application. In decision T 1147/05 - Environmental impact information/RICOH (not published in OJ EPO), the Board held at point 3.3 that:

"The Board accepts that a reduction of the environmental impact may in certain circumstances constitute a technical effect. One example might be an invention concerning a less energy-intensive process for the manufacture of a product. On the other hand, as a further example, if an invention is a proposal to abandon - rather than to improve - an energy-intensive process, there is no technical effect but, at most, a physical consequence. A technical effect should not depend solely on the intervention of the human mind. In the present case the invention is not a proposal for a technically superior process but a way of selecting, from a given set of improved processes, the most cost-effective ones. Whether or not the processes are actually implemented, ie whether there is any effect at all, even physical, is not part of the claim. This will be a later decision to be taken by a manager.

"Thus, the potential reductions in environmental impact that the invention serves to determine cannot be regarded as a technical effect."

8. The present Board considers that these statements apply equally to the environmental impact estimation method in the present case. The Board does not consider that the remaining feature of the "memory unit" implies any computer implementation that would limit the claim to involve necessarily technical means (see e.g. T 388/04 - Undeliverable mail/PITNEY BOWES, OJ EPO 2007, 16 at point 3).

9. Concerning the jurisprudence, the appellant relies on T 208/84 - Computer-related invention/VICOM (OJ EPO 1987, 14) and T 953/94 (not published in OJ EPO). In VICOM, the distinction was drawn at point 5 between a mathematical method and a technical process. The former is carried out on numbers and the latter is carried out on a physical entity (which may be a material object but equally an image stored as an electric signal) by some technical means implementing the method and provides as its result a certain change in that entity. In T 953/94, the Board found allowable at point 6 a method of controlling a "physical" process using a mathematical model, although a reference to an unspecified "physical process" might, according to more recent jurisprudence, be rejected as a "meta-specification" (see e.g. T 1227/05 - Circuit simulation I/INFINEON TECHNOLOGIES, OJ EPO 2007, 574 at point 3.1.1). However, the present case differs from these cases in that there is apparently no resultant change to or control over any physical entity or process, but merely a processing of information. The Board in T 1147/05 (supra) reached the same conclusion at point 3.4 in respect of VICOM for the environmental impact information system.

10. Furthermore, there are a number of more recent decisions that support the view that the quantities in the present case do not have technical character. For example, T 154/04 - Estimating sales activity/DUNS LICENSING ASSOCIATES (OJ EPO 2008, 46) points out at point 20 that it is not necessarily sufficient to convey technical character that the quantities being processed represent physical parameters. T 365/05 - Bovine herd management/CORNELL RESEARCH FOUNDATION (not published in OJ EPO) comes to similar conclusions at point 5.10, also in consideration of VICOM (supra).

11. Summarising, the Board judges that claim 1 of the main request has no overall technical character, but is merely a mixture of subject-matter excluded as such under Article 52(2) and (3) EPC, specifically mathematical methods, methods for performing mental acts or doing business and presentations of information. Accordingly, the subject-matter of the claim is not an invention in the sense of Article 52(1) EPC.

First and second auxiliary requests

12. Claim 1 of the first and second auxiliary requests defines the product worth life and the product useful life, i.e. parameters in the model. However, such definitions, whilst improving the clarity of the claim, still relate to the non-technical quantities mentioned above and cannot contribute to the technical character (Article 52(1) and (2) EPC).

Third auxiliary request

13. In the third auxiliary request, there are further unclear features. The recycle objects in the second feature of claim 1 are not mentioned in the first feature. Although the appellant states that the third request is based on the second auxiliary request, neither claim 1 (nor claim 7) define the product useful life. Furthermore, the Board does not consider the amendment of calculating the "time-dependent balance" to be clearly supported. Firstly, the support suggested by the appellant (equivalent to paragraphs [0038] and [0059] of the published application) appears to refer only to the feature of displaying the icons. In fact, although the application mentions "balance" in paragraphs [0007], [0011], [0012], [0018] and [0020] and "demand balance" in paragraph [0043], all apparently meaning the difference between the number of required and available reuse parts, there is no mention of "time-dependent balance".

14. Again, not withstanding the above objections, claim 1 could be considered to add the features of displaying icons to represent the reuse objects in the life cycle model and calculating a "time-dependent balance". Although more detailed, this does not change the fact that the method basically processes and displays information (whether about objects or products or properties of products does not matter) that may be useful for business decisions in any production environment. For such decisions all economic factors have to be evaluated, e.g. production cost or, in more recent times, also environmental impact. These factors have to be calculated or estimated. The additional concept of calculating a balance (whatever it may be) is such a calculation. In the Board's view, a technical effect would only arise if the method were specifically used for producing a concrete product. In the present case, an implementation in this sense is left open, and the result of the method is only data, e.g. presented in a report or used in a presentation that may serve any purpose.

15. Thus in the Board's view, the only technical feature in claim 1 is the above-mentioned feature of displaying icons representing the reuse objects (e.g. as in Figure 3) on a display device. However, displaying parameters in a computer information processing system using icons is notorious and cannot contribute to inventive step.

16. Accordingly, claim 1 of the third auxiliary request does not involve an inventive step (Article 56 EPC 1973).

Examining division's arguments

17. The examining division refused the application with the COMVIK line of argumentation that the difference over D3 was merely the specific mathematical model used for the recovery distribution, namely the two peak approximation, which did not have technical character, in this particular context of environmental impact estimation.

18. This argument must also be correct because the Board's arguments, which apply to all the features of the claim, apply ad maiore ad minus to the more limited number of features representing the differences between the claimed subject-matter and the prior art considered by the examining division.

19. There being no further requests, it follows that the appeal must be dismissed.

Order

ORDER

For these reasons it is decided that:

The appeal is dismissed.

Footer - Service & support
  • Service & support
    • FAQ
    • Contact us
    • Subscription centre
    • Official holidays
    • Publications
    • Procedural communications
    • Ordering
    • Glossary
Footer - More links
  • Jobs & careers
  • Press centre
  • Single Access Portal
  • Procurement
  • Boards of Appeal
SoMe facebook 0
European Patent Office
EPO Jobs
SoMe instagram
EuropeanPatentOffice
SoMe linkedIn
European Patent Office
EPO Jobs
EPO Procurement
SoMe twitter
EPOorg
EPOjobs
SoMe youtube
TheEPO
Footer
  • Legal notice
  • Terms of use
  • Data protection and privacy
  • Accessibility