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
      • EP full-text search
    • Legal information
      • Overview
      • European Patent Register
      • European Patent Bulletin
      • European Case Law Identifier sitemap
      • Third-party observations
    • Business information
      • Overview
      • PATSTAT
      • IPscore
      • Technology insight reports
    • Data
      • Overview
      • Technology Intelligence Platform
      • Linked open EP data
      • Bulk data sets
      • Web services
      • Coverage, codes and statistics
    • Technology platforms
      • Overview
      • Plastics in transition
      • Water innovation
      • Space innovation
      • Technologies combatting cancer
      • Firefighting technologies
      • Clean energy technologies
      • Fighting coronavirus
    • 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
    Image
    Plastics in Transition

    Technology insight report on plastic waste management

  • 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
    • Find a professional representative
    • MyEPO services
      • Overview
      • Understand our services
      • Get access
      • File with us
      • Interact with us on your files
      • Online Filing & fee payment outages
    • Forms
      • Overview
      • Request for examination
    • Fees
      • Overview
      • European fees (EPC)
      • International fees (PCT)
      • Unitary Patent fees (UP)
      • Fee payment and refunds
      • Warning

    UP

    Find out how the Unitary Patent can enhance your IP strategy

  • 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
      • Guidelines
      • Extension / validation system
      • London Agreement
      • National law relating to the EPC
      • Unitary patent system
      • National measures relating to the Unitary Patent
    • 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
    Image
    Law and practice scales 720x237

    Keep up with key aspects of selected BoA decisions with our monthly "Abstracts of decisions”

  • 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
      • The meaning of tomorrow
      • About the award
      • Categories and prizes
      • Meet the finalists
      • Nominations
      • European Inventor Network
      • The 2024 event
    • Young Inventor Prize
      • Overview
      • About the prize
      • Nominations
      • The jury
      • The world, reimagined
    • 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
      • Water-related technologies
      • CodeFest
      • Green tech in focus
      • Research institutes
      • Women inventors
      • 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

    From ideas to inventions: tune into our podcast for the latest in tech and IP

  • Learning

    Learning

    The European Patent Academy – the point of access to your learning

    Go to overview 

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

    Have a look at the extensive range of learning opportunities in the European Patent Academy training catalogue

  • 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
      • Official celebrations
      • Member states’ video statements
      • 50 Leading Tech Voices
      • Athens Marathon
      • Kids’ collaborative art competition
    • Legal foundations and member states
      • Overview
      • Legal foundations
      • Member states of the European Patent Organisation
      • Extension states
      • Validation states
    • Administrative Council and subsidiary bodies
      • Overview
      • Communiqués
      • Calendar
      • Documents and publications
      • Administrative Council
    • Principles & strategy
      • Overview
      • Our mission, vision, values and corporate policy
      • Strategic Plan 2028
      • Towards a New Normal
    • Leadership & management
      • Overview
      • President António Campinos
      • Management Advisory Committee
    • Sustainability at the EPO
      • Overview
      • Environmental
      • Social
      • Governance and Financial sustainability
    • Services & activities
      • Overview
      • Our services & structure
      • Quality
      • Consulting our users
      • European and international co-operation
      • European Patent Academy
      • Chief Economist
      • Ombuds Office
      • Reporting wrongdoing
    • Observatory on Patents and Technology
      • Overview
      • Innovation actors
      • Policy and funding
      • Tools
      • About the Observatory
    • Procurement
      • Overview
      • Procurement forecast
      • Doing business with the EPO
      • Procurement procedures
      • Sustainable Procurement Policy
      • 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
      • Patent Index 2024
      • EPO Data Hub
      • Clarification on data sources
    • History
      • Overview
      • 1970s
      • 1980s
      • 1990s
      • 2000s
      • 2010s
      • 2020s
    • Art collection
      • Overview
      • The collection
      • Let's talk about art
      • Artists
      • Media library
      • What's on
      • Publications
      • Contact
      • Culture Space A&T 5-10
      • "Long Night"
    Image
    Patent Index 2024 keyvisual showing brightly lit up data chip, tinted in purple, bright blue

    Track the latest tech trends with our Patent Index

 
en de fr
  • Language selection
  • English
  • Deutsch
  • Français
Main navigation
  • Homepage
    • Go back
    • New to patents
  • New to patents
    • Go back
    • Your business and patents
    • Why do we have patents?
    • What's your big idea?
    • Are you ready?
    • What to expect
    • How to apply for a patent
    • Is it patentable?
    • Are you first?
    • 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
        • Release notes
        • Cross-reference index for Euro-PCT applications
        • EP authority file
        • Help
      • EP full-text search
    • 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
          • Register events
      • European Patent Bulletin
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Download Bulletin
        • EP Bulletin search
        • Help
      • European Case Law Identifier sitemap
      • Third-party observations
    • Business information
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • PATSTAT
      • IPscore
        • Go back
        • Release notes
      • Technology insight reports
    • Data
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Technology Intelligence Platform
      • 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)
        • Boards of Appeal decisions
      • Web services
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Open Patent Services (OPS)
        • European Publication Server web service
      • Coverage, codes and statistics
        • Go back
        • Weekly updates
        • Updated regularly
    • Technology platforms
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Plastics in transition
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Plastics waste recovery
        • Plastics waste recycling
        • Alternative plastics
      • Innovation in water technologies
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Clean water
        • Protection from water
      • Space innovation
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Cosmonautics
        • Space observation
      • Technologies combatting cancer
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Prevention and early detection
        • Diagnostics
        • Therapies
        • Wellbeing and aftercare
      • Firefighting technologies
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Detection and prevention of fires
        • Fire extinguishing
        • Protective equipment
        • Post-fire restoration
      • Clean energy technologies
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Renewable energy
        • Carbon-intensive industries
        • Energy storage and other enabling technologies
      • 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
    • Helpful resources
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • First time here?
        • 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
          • Main features
          • Applying for a Unitary Patent
          • Cost of a Unitary Patent
          • Translation and compensation
          • Start date
          • Introductory brochures
        • 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
        • Exchange data with us using an API
          • Go back
          • Release notes
      • Get access
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Release notes
      • File with us
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • What if our online filing services are down?
        • Release notes
      • Interact with us on your files
        • Go back
        • Release notes
      • Online Filing & fee payment outages
    • 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
      • Overview
      • Request for examination
    • Find a professional representative
  • 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
      • Guidelines
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • EPC Guidelines
        • PCT-EPO Guidelines
        • Unitary Patent Guidelines
        • Guidelines revision cycle
        • Consultation results
        • Summary of user responses
        • Archive
      • Extension / validation system
      • London Agreement
      • National law relating to the EPC
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Archive
      • Unitary Patent system
        • Go back
        • Travaux préparatoires to UP and UPC
      • 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
      • The meaning of tomorrow
      • About the award
      • Categories and prizes
      • Meet the inventors
      • Nominations
      • European Inventor Network
        • Go back
        • 2024 activities
        • 2025 activities
        • Rules and criteria
        • FAQ
      • The 2024 event
    • Young Inventors Prize
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • About the prize
      • Nominations
      • The jury
      • The world, reimagined
      • The 2025 event
    • 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
      • Water-related technologies
      • CodeFest
        • Go back
        • CodeFest Spring 2025 on classifying patent data for sustainable development
        • Overview
        • CodeFest 2024 on generative AI
        • CodeFest 2023 on Green Plastics
      • Green tech in focus
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • About green tech
        • Renewable energies
        • Energy transition technologies
        • Building a greener future
      • Research institutes
      • Women inventors
      • 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
        • Artificial intelligence
        • Fourth Industrial Revolution
      • Additive manufacturing
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • About AM
        • AM innovation
      • Books by EPO experts
    • Podcast
  • Learning
    • Go back
    • Overview
    • Learning activities and paths
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Learning activities: types and formats
      • Learning paths
    • EQE and EPAC
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • EQE - European Qualifying Examination
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Compendium
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Paper F
          • Paper A
          • Paper B
          • Paper C
          • Paper D
          • Pre-examination
        • Candidates successful in the European qualifying examination
        • Archive
      • EPAC - European patent administration certification
      • CSP – Candidate Support Programme
    • Learning resources by area of interest
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Patent granting
      • Technology transfer and dissemination
      • Patent enforcement and litigation
    • 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
        • Inventor's handbook
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Introduction
          • Disclosure and confidentiality
          • Novelty and prior art
          • Competition and market potential
          • Assessing the risk ahead
          • Proving the invention
          • Protecting your idea
          • Building a team and seeking funding
          • Business planning
          • Finding and approaching companies
          • Dealing with companies
        • 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
          • Business decision-makers
          • IP professionals
          • Stakeholders of the Innovation Ecosystem
      • EQE and EPAC Candidates
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Paper F brain-teasers
        • Daily D questions
        • European qualifying examination - Guide for preparation
        • EPAC
      • 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
        • Modular IP Education Framework (MIPEF)
        • 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
        • Academic Research Programme
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Completed research projects
          • Current research projects
        • IP Teaching Kit
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Download modules
        • Intellectual property course design manual
        • PATLIB Knowledge Transfer to Africa
          • Go back
          • The PATLIB Knowledge Transfer to Africa initiative (KT2A)
          • KT2A core activities
          • Success story: Malawi University of Science and Technology and PATLIB Birmingham
  • About us
    • Go back
    • Overview
    • The EPO at a glance
    • 50 years of the EPC
      • Go back
      • Official celebrations
      • Overview
      • Member states’ video statements
        • Go back
        • Albania
        • Austria
        • Belgium
        • Bulgaria
        • Croatia
        • Cyprus
        • Czech Republic
        • Denmark
        • Estonia
        • Finland
        • France
        • Germany
        • Greece
        • Hungary
        • Iceland
        • Ireland
        • Italy
        • Latvia
        • Liechtenstein
        • Lithuania
        • Luxembourg
        • Malta
        • Monaco
        • Montenegro
        • Netherlands
        • North Macedonia
        • Norway
        • Poland
        • Portugal
        • Romania
        • San Marino
        • Serbia
        • Slovakia
        • Slovenia
        • Spain
        • Sweden
        • Switzerland
        • Türkiye
        • United Kingdom
      • 50 Leading Tech Voices
      • Athens Marathon
      • 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
    • Administrative Council and subsidiary bodies
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Communiqués
        • Go back
        • 2024
        • Overview
        • 2023
        • 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
        • Go back
        • Driver 1: People
        • Driver 2: Technologies
        • Driver 3: High-quality, timely products and services
        • Driver 4: Partnerships
        • Driver 5: Financial sustainability
      • Towards a New Normal
      • Data protection & privacy notice
    • Leadership & management
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • About the President
      • Management Advisory Committee
    • Sustainability at the EPO
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Environmental
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Inspiring environmental inventions
      • Social
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Inspiring social inventions
      • Governance and Financial sustainability
    • Procurement
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Procurement forecast
      • Doing business with the EPO
      • Procurement procedures
      • Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) publications
      • Sustainable Procurement Policy
      • About eTendering
      • Invoicing
      • Procurement portal
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • e-Signing contracts
      • 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
        • Quality Action Plan
        • Quality dashboard
        • Statistics
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Search
          • Examination
          • Opposition
        • Integrated management at the EPO
      • 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
        • Surveys
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Detailed methodology
          • Search services
          • Examination services, final actions and publication
          • Opposition services
          • Formalities services
          • Customer services
          • Filing services
          • Key Account Management (KAM)
          • Website
          • Archive
      • 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
    • Observatory on Patents and Technology
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Innovation against cancer
      • Innovation actors
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Startups and SMEs
      • Policy and funding
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Financing innovation programme
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Our studies on the financing of innovation
          • EPO initiatives for patent applicants
          • Financial support for innovators in Europe
        • Patents and standards
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Publications
          • Patent standards explorer
      • Tools
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Deep Tech Finder
      • About the Observatory
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Work plan
    • Transparency portal
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • General
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Annual Review 2023
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Foreword
          • Executive summary
          • 50 years of the EPC
          • Strategic key performance indicators
          • Goal 1: Engaged and empowered
          • Goal 2: Digital transformation
          • Goal 3: Master quality
          • Goal 4: Partner for positive impact
          • Goal 5: Secure sustainability
        • 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
    • Statistics and trends
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Statistics & Trends Centre
      • Patent Index 2024
        • Go back
        • Insight into computer technology and AI
        • Insight into clean energy technologies
        • Statistics and indicators
          • Go back
          • European patent applications
            • Go back
            • Key trend
            • Origin
            • Top 10 technical fields
              • Go back
              • Computer technology
              • Electrical machinery, apparatus, energy
              • Digital communication
              • Medical technology
              • Transport
              • Measurement
              • Biotechnology
              • Pharmaceuticals
              • Other special machines
              • Organic fine chemistry
            • All technical fields
          • Applicants
            • Go back
            • Top 50
            • Categories
            • Women inventors
          • Granted patents
            • Go back
            • Key trend
            • Origin
            • Designations
      • Data to download
      • EPO Data Hub
      • Clarification on data sources
    • History
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • 1970s
      • 1980s
      • 1990s
      • 2000s
      • 2010s
      • 2020s
    • Art collection
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • The collection
      • Let's talk about art
      • Artists
      • Media library
      • What's on
      • Publications
      • Contact
      • Culture Space A&T 5-10
        • Go back
        • Catalyst lab & Deep vision
          • Go back
          • Irene Sauter (DE)
          • AVPD (DK)
          • Jan Robert Leegte (NL)
          • Jānis Dzirnieks (LV) #1
          • Jānis Dzirnieks (LV) #2
          • Péter Szalay (HU)
          • Thomas Feuerstein (AT)
          • Tom Burr (US)
          • Wolfgang Tillmans (DE)
          • TerraPort
          • Unfinished Sculpture - Captives #1
          • Deep vision – immersive exhibition
          • Previous exhibitions
        • The European Patent Journey
        • Sustaining life. Art in the climate emergency
        • Next generation statements
        • Open storage
        • Cosmic bar
      • "Long Night"
  • Boards of Appeal
    • Go back
    • Overview
    • Decisions of the Boards of Appeal
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Recent decisions
      • Selected decisions
    • Information from the Boards of Appeal
    • Procedure
    • Oral proceedings
    • About the Boards of Appeal
      • 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
    • Code of Conduct
    • Business distribution scheme
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Technical boards of appeal by IPC in 2025
      • Archive
    • Annual list of cases
    • Communications
    • Annual reports
      • Go back
      • Overview
    • Publications
      • Go back
      • Abstracts of decisions
    • Case Law of the Boards of Appeal
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Archive
  • Service & support
    • Go back
    • Overview
    • Website updates
    • Availability of online services
      • Go back
      • Overview
    • FAQ
      • Go back
      • Overview
    • Publications
    • Ordering
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Patent Knowledge Products and Services
      • 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
      • Directories of patent attorneys
      • Patent databases, registers and gazettes
      • Disclaimer
    • Contact us
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Filing options
      • Locations
    • Subscription centre
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Subscribe
      • Change preferences
      • Unsubscribe
    • Official holidays
    • Glossary
    • RSS feeds
Board of Appeals
Decisions

Recent decisions

Overview
  • 2025 decisions
  • 2024 decisions
  • 2023 decisions
  1. Home
  2. T 1907/08 (Cellulose pulp cooking/METSO) 02-02-2011
Facebook X Linkedin Email

T 1907/08 (Cellulose pulp cooking/METSO) 02-02-2011

European Case Law Identifier
ECLI:EP:BA:2011:T190708.20110202
Date of decision
02 February 2011
Case number
T 1907/08
Petition for review of
-
Application number
03731867.2
IPC class
D21C 3/24
Language of proceedings
EN
Distribution
DISTRIBUTED TO BOARD CHAIRMEN (C)

Download and more information:

Decision in EN 47.97 KB
Documentation of the appeal procedure can be found in the European Patent Register
Bibliographic information is available in:
EN
Versions
Unpublished
Application title

Continuous cooking of cellulose pulp with improved heat economy

Applicant name
Metso Fiber Karlstad AB
Opponent name
Andritz Inc.
Board
3.3.06
Headnote
-
Relevant legal provisions
European Patent Convention Art 54 1973
European Patent Convention Art 56 1973
Keywords

Novelty: yes

Inventive step: yes

Catchword
-
Cited decisions
T 0220/83
T 0574/91
T 0809/06
Citing decisions
T 1912/08

I. This appeal is from the decision of the Opposition Division rejecting the opposition against European patent No. 1 470 288, claiming priority from Swedish patent application SE 0200185 and relating to continuous cooking of cellulose pulp with improved heat economy.

II. The patent as granted comprised twelve claims, whereby claim 1 read:

"1. A method for the continuous cooking of chemical pulp with the aim of achieving improved heat economy in the digester system, in which the digester system comprises a vessel (1) for impregnation of cellulose chips and a vessel (2) for cooking the impregnated cellulose chips where the impregnation vessel (1) comprises an inlet to which a mixture of chips and process fluid is fed, where the chips are first impregnated at a predetermined impregnation temperature, Timp, after which the impregnated chips are fed to the digester (2) through a transfer system (4) in order to be cooked at a predetermined temperature, Tkok, after which pulp that has been dissolved in the digester system is fed out through the outlet of the digester and that at least one withdrawal of black liquor is made from the digester via cooking withdrawal, preferably via cooker strainers, after part of or the complete cooking of the chips and where black liquor (14) from the said black liquor withdrawal is led to the transfer system (4) to be mixed with the impregnated chips for transport onwards to the top of the digester, characterised in

- that a part of the black liquor (14) from the said black liquor withdrawal, which liquor has a withdrawal temperature Tav, is added to the beginning of the transfer system having maintained essentially the temperature Tav, with the aim of raising the temperature of the chips mixture in the transfer system (4),

- that at least a part of the transport fluid (10) that is continuously withdrawn at the end of the transfer system from the impregnated chips mixture that is fed into the top of the digester, and which maintains a transport temperature Ttransp, is returned to the impregnation vessel (1) at a location that lies before the said transfer system (4), seen from the point of view of the direction of flow of the chips, such that the transport fluid (10) that has been withdrawn and that is returned to the impregnation vessel (1) is given a period as impregnation fluid in the impregnation vessel (1) for at least 40%, preferably at least 50%, of the total retention time timp of the chips in the impregnation vessel (1), and that the part of withdrawn transport fluid (10) that is returned to the impregnation vessel (1) constitutes at least 10%, preferably at least 25% and even more preferably at least 50%, of the total amount of the transport fluid withdrawn from the top of the digester."

Claims 2 to 12 defined preferred embodiments of the method of claim 1.

In particular, claim 5 read:

"5. The method according to claim 4, characterised in that the fraction of transport fluid (10) withdrawn, which maintains a transfer temperature of Ttransp, is returned to the impregnation vessel (1) with an essentially maintained transfer temperature Ttransp in at least one location in the impregnation vessel."

III. The Opponent sought revocation of the patent-in-suit on the grounds of, inter alia, lack of novelty and of inventive step (Article 100(a) EPC 1973). During the opposition proceedings it cited, inter alia, the documents:

(1) = US 5,660,686

and

(2) = US 5,679,217.

The Patent Proprietor filed with letter of 15 November 2006 a set of amended claims as first auxiliary request.

IV. The Opposition Division considered, inter alia, that granted claim 1 required to return the transport fluid withdrawn at the end of the transfer system (hereafter the WT fluid) into the impregnation vessel (hereinafter the I vessel) at a location (hereinafter also indicated as the return location) sufficiently above the transfer system to allow the WT fluid introduced into the I vessel to act as impregnation fluid for a period of at least 40% of the total impregnation time of the pulp.

The Opposition Division found, inter alia, that a return to the I vessel at such a return location of WT fluid maintaining the Ttransp temperature was not disclosed in documents (1) or (2) and, thus, that these prior art methods did not anticipate the patented subject-matter.

Moreover, the skilled person could not have arrived at the patented method starting from any of documents (1) or (2).

Indeed, document (1) required the WT fluid to be returned to the bottom of the I vessel, i.e. at the beginning of the transfer system, and gave no hint to the skilled person to relocate the return of the WT fluid closer to the top of the I vessel.

In addition, document (2) only disclosed the return of the WT fluid to the I vessel in mixture with the hot black liquor and, thus, provided per se no hint to return separately WT fluid.

The Opposition Division also considered the Opponent's attempt to fit together documents (1) and (2), solely because they were from the same field, an unallowable ex-post-facto approach.

Hence, the patented subject-matter was found based on an inventive step.

V. The Opponent (hereinafter Appellant) appealed this decision.

On 1 February 2011 oral proceedings took place before the Board in the presence of both parties.

VI. The Appellant disputed in writing and orally only the findings in the decision under appeal as to the novelty and the presence of inventive step in view of documents (1) and (2).

It argued that the expression "which maintains a transport temperature Ttransp" (hereinafter also indicated as the transport temperature definition) in granted claim 1 did not require the WT fluid to be returned to the I vessel while maintaining the same temperature that it had at the time of its withdrawal at the end of the transfer system. This would also be apparent from the wording of granted claim 5 which confirmed that the requirement of maintenance of such Ttransp up to the entrance of the WT fluid in the I vessel was just a preferred embodiment of the patented method. Moreover, the apparatuses sketched in the Figures of the patent-in-suit contained the conduit (20) which, as apparent from paragraph [0023], allowed to feed to the I vessel the WT fluid in mixture with the hot black liquor. At the oral proceedings before the Board the Appellant additionally argued that this argument was further supported by the original wording of the Swedish patent application from which the patent-in-suit claims priority, since such original wording would state that the WT fluid possessed, rather than maintained, a transport temperature.

The Appellant also argued that granted claim 1 embraced the possibility of returning the WT fluid at any location in the I vessel preceding the feed of black liquor. Indeed, due to the possibility of countercurrent flow, even a location at the bottom of the I vessel would allow the returned WT fluid to act as impregnation fluid.

Countercurrent flow would also occur in the prior art method disclosed in document (1) in which the WT fluid fed at the bottom of the I vessel also acted as impregnation fluid.

Moreover, contrary to the finding of the Opposition Division, document (2) would not necessarily require the black liquor to be mixed with the WT fluid. This was just the specific example 1 of this prior art. Maintenance of the transport temperature was instead implied in the more general teaching provided by this citation. In any case, claim 1 of the patent-in-suit allowed for the possible feeding of the WT fluid in mixture with the black liquor and paragraph [0023] of the patent-in-suit explicitly confirmed such possibility.

Hence, the patented method was anticipated in the prior art disclosed in document (1) as well as document (2).

As to the issue of inventive step the Appellant argued that, in case the Board would instead concur with the Opposition Division's finding that the method of granted claim 1 required to return the WT fluid while retaining its transport temperature to a location in the I vessel well above the transfer system and, thus, well above the bottom of the I vessel, still the patented method achieved no heat economy vis-à-vis the method of document (1).

Accordingly, the sole technical problem credibly solved by the patented subject-matter remained the provision of an alternative to the prior art. No inventive step would be necessary for arbitrarily modifying the return location used in the prior art method so as to arrive at the subject-matter of the claims of the patent-in-suit. In particular, this modification would be obvious in view of document (2) which already disclosed the possibility of feeding the WT fluid at the upper portion of the I vessel.

VII. The reply of the Patent Proprietor (hereinafter Respondent) to the grounds of appeal contained at page 1 the following sentence "As a first formal request it is requested that the appeal be dismissed as being unfounded and not addressing the reasons for maintaining the patent by the Opposition Division.".

At the oral proceeding the Respondent added thereto that the grounds of appeal were incomplete because they did not address all the points that had led the Opposition Division to the conclusion that the patented subject-matter was novel and based on an inventive step vis-à-vis documents (1) and (2).

The Respondent refuted in writing and orally the Appellant's arguments on novelty and inventive step, inter alia, because the wording of granted claim 1 could only be interpreted by the skilled person as requiring the WT fluid to maintain the transport temperature up to the moment of its feeding into the I vessel. There would be no explicit or implicit contradiction between this interpretation of claim 1 and claim 5, since this latter had the aim of defining preferred embodiments characterized by the possible presence of more than one return location for the WT fluid into the I vessel and, thus, claim 5 was not just a superfluous repetition of the requirement already expressed in claim 1, as to the maintenance of the Ttransp temperature during the return of the WT fluid.

Finally, the conduit (20) of the drawings of the patent-in-suit was explicitly described in paragraph [0023] to be just a shunt line to be used during start up of the continuous process.

In the Respondent's opinion, in the method of document (1) the WT fluid was not returned to the I vessel at a location apt at producing that all the returned WT fluid acted as impregnation fluid. Moreover, in this prior art the returned WT fluid was manifestly heated through the heaters (42) sketched in Figure 2.

No maintenance of the transport temperature was also possible in the method of document (2), which only disclosed the feeding of the WT fluid in mixture with the hot black liquor.

Hence, the cited prior art did not anticipate the patented subject-matter.

Finally, the patented method achieved the aimed energy economy vis-à-vis document (1) and neither this citation nor document (2) suggested the use of WT fluid at the transport temperature as impregnation fluid. Hence, the prior art did not render the saving in energy obtained in the patented method by means of this use obvious.

VIII. The Appellant requested that the decision under appeal be set aside and that the European patent be revoked.

The Respondent requested that the appeal be dismissed or alternatively that the patent be maintained in amended form on the basis of the set of claims of the first auxiliary request filed with letter of 15 November 2006.

Admissibility of the appeal

1. As indicated above at section VII of the Facts and Submission the Respondent has made a "formal request" to the Board to dismiss the appeal as unfounded because the grounds of appeal would not address all the points that had led the Opposition Division to the conclusion that the patented subject-matter was novel and based on an inventive step vis-à-vis documents (1) and (2).

The Board interprets this as an objection to the admissibility of the appeal.

It is standard case law of the Boards of Appeal that the grounds of appeal must enable the Board to understand immediately why the decision was alleged to be incorrect, and on what facts the Appellant based his arguments, without having to make investigations on its own (see T 220/83 OJ EPO 1986,249; T 574/91 and T 809/06, not published in the OJ EPO).

In the present case, even if the Appellant's statement setting out the grounds of appeal filed with letter of 15 December 2008 has not addressed all the points of the reasoning of the Opposition Division's decision, this statement enables the Board to understand why the decision under appeal is alleged to be incorrect and on what facts the Appellant bases its arguments for requesting that the decision be set aside and the patent be revoked.

Where irrelevant or ill-founded arguments brought in support of the grounds of appeal might lead to an unsuccessful outcome of the appeal, or perhaps even the dismissal of the appeal, they do not of themselves render an appeal inadmissible within the meaning of Article 108 EPC.

Thus, the Board finds the appeal admissible, regardless as whether the grounds of appeal may or not be relevant enough for reversing the whole reasoning in the appealed decision leading to the conclusion that the patented subject-matter was found novel and based on inventive step vis-à-vis document (1) and document (2).

Patent as granted (Main request)

2. Novelty: claim 1 as granted (Article 100(a) in combination with Articles 52(1) and 54(1) and (2) EPC 1973)

2.1 The Board concurs with the Respondent and the Opposition Division that claim 1 as granted (see above section II of the Facts and Submissions) defines a method for the continuous cooking of cellulose pulp that comprises impregnating cellulose chips (before their actual cooking) with black liquor taken from the digester, and in which the black liquor is firstly used for forming the transport fluid present in the transfer system located between the bottom of the I vessel and the top of the digester, and then (in part) withdrawn from the end of the transfer system (as WT fluid) and finally returned to the I vessel. The return of the WT fluid is described in claim 1 by stating that "at least a part of the transport fluid (10) that is continuously withdrawn at the end of the transfer system … and which maintains a transport temperature Ttransp, is returned to the impregnation vessel (1) at a location that lies before the said transfer system (4), seen from the point of view of the direction of flow of the chips, such that the transport fluid (10) that has been withdrawn and that is returned to the impregnation vessel (1) is given a period as impregnation fluid in the impregnation vessel (1) for at least 40% … of the total retention time timp of the chips in the impregnation vessel (1)". Thus, in the opinion of the Board, this claim requires the WT fluid to be returned - while maintaining the "Ttransp" - at a specific return location in the I vessel that is above the transfer system and is apt at allowing the returned WT fluid to act as impregnation fluid for a substantial fraction of the total impregnation time. It is also apparent from claim 1 and manifestly consistent with the technology in this technical field that the transport temperature of the WT fluid must necessarily be intermediate between the "Tav" of the hot black liquor and the temperature of impregnation in the I vessel.

2.1.1 The Appellant has disputed in part this interpretation of claim 1 as granted by arguing that

- the intrinsic ambiguity of the definition of the transport temperature in the claim;

- the possibility of mixing the WT fluid with the black liquor in the patented method explicitly described in the patent-in-suit in paragraph [0023] with reference to the conduit (20) in both the Figures;

- the wording of granted claim 5;

and

- the original text of the Swedish priority application,

would render evident that the claim only requires the WT fluid to "possess" or "have" an undetermined transport temperature at the moment of its withdrawal from the end of the transfer system (i.e. from the top of the digester).

The Appellant has also argued that in any embodiment of the claimed method the WT fluid returned to the I vessel would (at least initially) flow countercurrent, since its temperature is certainly superior to the temperature inside the I vessel. Therefore, even a return location at about the bottom of this vessel would allow the returned WT fluid to act as impregnation fluid.

Accordingly, in the Appellant's opinion granted claim 1 would embrace the possibility of returning to any location in the I vessel the WT fluid at any temperature and, possibly, even in mixture e.g. with hot black liquor.

2.1.2 The Board finds, however, that the transport temperature definition in granted claim 1 can only be interpreted taking into account that the verb used therein is "maintains", and not "has" or "possesses".

The Board considers also relevant in this respect that the other expressions containing the verb "maintain" which are present in the very same claim 1 (see the passage relating to "Tav") as well as in claim 5 as granted (see above de section II of the Facts and Submissions) explicitly define constancy of temperature during a certain operation, i.e. over a prolonged time interval, rather than just for indicating the presence of a certain temperature in a single instant.

The Board notes further that the disclosure at paragraph [0023] explicitly only refers to the optional use of the shunt line (20) during start up (i.e. until continuous operation is commenced). Moreover, it is apparent to the Board that in the context of the patent-in-suit the shunt line (20) only disclose the possibility of (initially) introducing a mixture of WT fluid and hot black liquor at the beginning of the transfer system in the I vessel, and not to a return location in the I vessel that is above such transfer system and apt at ensuring that the whole returned WT fluid acted as impregnation fluid. Hence, paragraph [0023] is irrelevant for the interpretation of the definition of the transport temperature contained in the passage cited above at point 2.1.

The Board's interpretation of the wording "maintains a transport temperature" in granted claim 1 does not even necessarily imply that claim 5 as granted would just represent a superfluous repetition of this feature, since claim 5 does not just describe (in an unambiguous manner) the maintenance of the "Ttransp", but also stresses the possibility of a plurality of return locations (see in claim 5 the wording "at least one location").

Hence, in the opinion of the Board, the person skilled in the art can only interpret the transport temperature definition in granted claim 1 as the requirement of substantially constant temperature for the WT fluid, from the moment of its withdrawal at the end of the transfer system to its feeding at the return location into the I vessel.

As to a different transport temperature definition allegedly present in the priority application, the Board considers not justified to construe granted claim 1 as if it should necessarily define the same subject-matter already defined in the priority application. The Board notes indeed that neither the EPC nor the current practice in claiming priority rights require that the content of a European patent or European patent application should not extend beyond that of the national patent application from which the European patent or patent application claims priority. Hence, any difference in wording between the priority application and the claims of the patent-in-suit could for instance originate from the decision of the Respondent to (also) claim in the patent-in-suit matter not disclosed in the priority application. Thus, the content of the Swedish patent application from which the patent-in-suit claims priority is found irrelevant for the interpretation of the transport temperature definition in granted claim 1.

2.2 The Appellant has disputed the novelty of the method of granted claim 1 by making reference to the prior art disclosed e.g. in Figure 2 of document (1) and that disclosed in general description of document (2). In particular, the Appellant has referred to the lines 41 to 45 of the section with heading "Summary of the invention" in column 2 of document (2) reading "The apparatus comprises a conduit constructed and arranged between the top of the digester and the pre-impregnation vessel, whereby a portion of a liquor present in the top of the digester is transferred to the pre-impregnation vessel". As this passage is silent as to the need of mixing the WT fluid (i.e. the "liquor present in the top of the digester") with the black liquor taken from lower sections of the digester, the Appellant considered implied therein that the WT fluid was transferred to the I vessel without mixing it with the hot black liquor, i.e. maintaining the "Ttransp".

The Board finds instead that none of these two documents describes the return of the WT fluid at the transport temperature.

Indeed, it is undisputed that in Figure 2 of document (1) the line (41) used for returning the WT fluid to the I vessel passes through the heaters (42).

Moreover, the only detailed description in document (2) of the return of the WT fluid to the I vessel is that given in example 1 with reference to the sole drawing in this citation. From this disclosure it is apparent that the WT fluid, i.e. the fluid passing through the conduit 10, is combined with the black liquor (arriving from the screen section 8) in the conduit 11 (see also in document (2), column 4, lines 11 to 18) and thus no maintenance of the transport temperature of the WT fluid is disclosed in this example of the prior art. The general description at column 2 of this citation referred to by the Appellant is just silent as to the temperature of the WT fluid during its return to the I vessel. Hence, also the general description in this citation does not amount to a direct and unambiguous disclosure of such feature of the patented method.

Already for these reasons the Board comes to the conclusion that the subject-matter of claim 1 is not anticipated by the cited prior art.

3. Inventive step for the subject-matter of claim 1 as granted (Article 100(a) in combination with Articles 52(1) and (2), and 56 EPC 1973).

3.1 The patent-in-suit addresses the technical problem of achieving heat economy during impregnation of cellulose chips with black liquor.

3.2 The Board notes that also document (1) discloses e.g. with reference to Figure 2 a method for continuously cooking cellulose pulp in which black liquor withdrawn from the digester is fed to the I vessel to act (also) as impregnation fluid. Hence, the Board concurs with the parties that this prior art represents a suitable starting point for the assessment of inventive step.

3.3 As already indicated above at point 2.2, the subject-matter of claim 1 as granted differs from this prior art at least in that the former requires the return of the WT fluid at the transport temperature.

The Respondent has maintained that this feature of the patented subject-matter results in the solution of the posed technical problem.

The Appellant has argued instead that the method of the invention represents just an alternative to the prior art, deriving from an arbitrary modification of this latter not providing any technical advantage.

It has turned out unnecessary for the Board to establish which is the technical problem actually solved by the claimed method vis-à-vis the prior art, because the Board has come to the conclusion that even if the claimed method only represented an alternative to the prior art, still it was not obviously derivable from the cited documents.

Indeed, it is immediately apparent to the Board in view of the interpretation of granted claim 1 already made in the discussion of novelty that neither document (1) per se nor its combination with document (2) can possibly render obvious the modification of the method of document (1) needed for arriving at patented subject-matter.

As a matter of fact, whereas claim 1 of the patent-in-suit requires to feed the WT fluid at its temperature to the I vessel in order to act as impregnation fluid, in document (1) and in document (2) the WT fluid is always heated before returning it to any preceding location in the digester system (by using heaters and/or by mixing it with the hot black liquor, see the above discussion on novelty).

Hence, these citations, per se or in combination, cannot possibly render obvious to use the WT fluid as such (i.e. at its relatively low temperature) for impregnating the cellulose chips. On the contrary, the skilled reader of documents (1) and/or (2) would be prompted to consider the transportation temperature too low for allowing the direct use of the WT fluid as impregnation fluid.

3.4 Therefore, the Board concludes that the prior art cited by the Appellant does not render obvious the method of claim 1 as granted.

Hence, the subject-matter of this claim is found based on an inventive step and, thus, to comply with the requirements of Article 56 EPC 1973.

4. Novelty and inventive step for the subject-matter of claim 2 to 12 as granted (Article 100(a) in combination with Articles 52(1) and (2), 54(1) and (2), and 56 EPC 1973).

The reasoning given above in respect of the novelty and the non-obviousness of the method of claim 1 applies also to the preferred embodiments of this latter as defined in granted claims 2 to 12.

Order

ORDER

For these reasons it is decided that:

The appeal is dismissed.

Footer - Service & support
  • Service & support
    • Website updates
    • Availability of online services
    • FAQ
    • Publications
    • Procedural communications
    • Contact us
    • Subscription centre
    • Official holidays
    • Glossary
Footer - More links
  • Jobs & careers
  • Press centre
  • Single Access Portal
  • Procurement
  • Boards of Appeal
Facebook
European Patent Office
EPO Jobs
Instagram
EuropeanPatentOffice
Linkedin
European Patent Office
EPO Jobs
EPO Procurement
X (formerly Twitter)
EPOorg
EPOjobs
Youtube
TheEPO
Footer
  • Legal notice
  • Terms of use
  • Data protection and privacy
  • Accessibility