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
        • Research universities and public research organisations
        • 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 1404/14 (Graphitised carbon/CATALER) 20-12-2016
Facebook X Linkedin Email

T 1404/14 (Graphitised carbon/CATALER) 20-12-2016

European Case Law Identifier
ECLI:EP:BA:2016:T140414.20161220
Date of decision
20 December 2016
Case number
T 1404/14
Petition for review of
-
Application number
07741064.5
IPC class
H01M 4/96
B01J 27/20
H01M 4/92
H01M 8/10
Language of proceedings
EN
Distribution
NO DISTRIBUTION (D)

Download and more information:

Decision in EN 393.45 KB
Documentation of the appeal procedure can be found in the European Patent Register
Bibliographic information is available in:
EN
Versions
Unpublished
Application title

ELECTRODE CATALYST FOR FUEL CELL, AND SOLID POLYMER ELECTROLYTE FUEL CELL

Applicant name
Cataler Corporation
Opponent name
Umicore AG & Co. KG
Board
3.3.05
Headnote
-
Relevant legal provisions
European Patent Convention Art 54(1)
European Patent Convention Art 54(2)
European Patent Convention Art 56
European Patent Convention Art 83
European Patent Convention Art 114(2)
Rules of procedure of the Boards of Appeal Art 12(4)
Rules of procedure of the Boards of Appeal Art 13(1)
Rules of procedure of the Boards of Appeal Art 13(3)
Keywords

Late-filed ground for opposition - no misuse of the discretionary power by the opposition division

Late-filed ground for opposition - not submitted with the grounds of appeal - not prima facie relevant

Late-filed document - justification for late filing (no)

Main request - novelty - selection invention (no)

Late-filed request - submitted during the oral proceedings

Late-filed request - not admitted

Inventive step - auxiliary request 2

Inventive step - unexpected improvement (yes)

Catchword
-
Cited decisions
T 0608/07
T 2403/11
T 0450/13
T 0198/84
T 0230/07
G 0010/91
Citing decisions
T 1993/16
T 0234/20

I. The present appeal lies from the decision of the opposition division to revoke European patent No. 2 003 718.

II. Claim 1 as granted, the main request in opposition proceedings, reads as follows:

"1. An electrode catalyst for a fuel cell, comprising a conductive carbon carrier having at least a surface layer graphitized and an active catalyst material, characterized in that the graphitized conductive carbon particles have a dimension (La) in a six-membered ring face, carbon plane, direction of a crystallite measured by X-ray diffraction of 4.5 nm to 15 nm, characterized by comprising platinum or a platinum alloy for the active catalyst material, wherein platinum mass with respect to carbon mass is in a range of 0.075 to 2.4".

Claim 1 of the then pending auxiliary request (dated 4 July 2013) is identical to claim 1 of the main request apart from the characterising feature, which reads as follows (emphasis added by the board):

"wherein platinum mass with respect to carbon mass is in a range of 1.5 to 2.4".

III. The following documents were among those cited in opposition proceedings:

E1: English translation of JP 2006-008472 A

E6: English translation of JP 2005-216772 A

E4: WO 01/15254 A2

E7: English translation of JP 2005-129457

E13: J. Biscoe et al.: "An X-ray Study of Carbon Black", J. Applied Physics, 1942, 13(6), 364.

IV. According to the contested decision, the subject-matter of claim 1 as granted lacked novelty over the catalyst disclosed in E1.

The subject-matter of claim 1 of the auxiliary request met the requirements of Article 123(2) EPC, but not those of Article 56 EPC.

The late-filed ground for opposition under Article 100(b) EPC was not prima facie relevant and was therefore not admitted into the proceedings.

V. With its statement of grounds of appeal, the proprietor ("the appellant") contested the above decision and maintained the two sets of claims referred to above in point II.

VI. With its response to the grounds of appeal, the opponent ("the respondent") submitted a new document and objected to the subject-matter of both requests at issue under Articles 83, 54 and 56 EPC.

VII. The board expressed its preliminary opinion that the opposition division did not appear to have misused its discretionary power by not admitting the late-filed objection concerning sufficiency of disclosure. Furthermore claim 1 as granted appeared to lack novelty over E1, and the subject-matter of claim 1 of the auxiliary request appeared to involve an inventive step.

VIII. At the oral proceedings, which took place on 20 December 2016, the appellant requested permission to submit a new document E15 and a new auxiliary request 1. As a consequence the original auxiliary request (dated 4 July 2013) became auxiliary request 2.

The substantive discussion focused on Articles 83, 54 and 56 EPC issues.

With respect to auxiliary request 2, the respondent requested a discussion of its allowability under Article 123(2) EPC. No further arguments were presented with regard to the novelty objection against this request, and the inventive step issue was discussed on the basis of document E1 as the closest prior art in combination with E4, E6 or E7.

IX. At the end of the oral proceedings, the parties' requests were as follows:

The appellant (patent proprietor) requested that the decision under appeal be set aside and that the patent be maintained as granted or, alternatively, in amended form on the basis of auxiliary request 1 as submitted during the oral proceedings, or on the basis of auxiliary request 2 submitted as auxiliary request with the letter of 4 July 2013.

The respondent (opponent) requested that the appeal be dismissed.

X. The appellant's arguments may be summarised as follows:

The opposition division's decision not to admit the objection under Article 100(b) EPC was correct. However, the fact that different measurement methods existed for determining the La value was not an Article 83 EPC but an Article 84 EPC issue, because the skilled person knew how to prepare the catalyst, and the differences among the measurement methods were to be seen in the accuracy of the methods.

The subject-matter of claim 1 as granted was novel because E1 did not disclose graphitised carbon particles.

The subject-matter of claim 1 of auxiliary request 2 was inventive because starting from E1, the problem to be solved was to be seen in the provision of an electrode catalyst with improved durability. As E1 did not disclose the Pt/C ratio of 1.5 to 2.4 and since none of the prior-art documents suggested the combination of an La of from 4.5 to 15 and a Pt/C ratio of from 1.5 to 2.4, the claimed subject-matter met the requirements of Article 56 EPC.

XI. The respondent's arguments may be summarised as follows:

The new ground for opposition under Article 100(b) EPC should have been admitted by the opposition division, because the document filed in opposition procedure one month before the oral proceedings was prima facie relevant and the respondent had had sufficient time to consider its content.

The subject-matter of claim 1 as granted lacked novelty over E1, example 3, because claim 1 did not satisfy the criteria for a selection invention.

The subject-matter of claim 1 of auxiliary request 2 lacked inventive step over E1 - the closest prior art - because there was no evidence of any effect, with the consequence that the problem had to be reformulated. The solution of using a higher Pt/C ratio than in E1 (in which the Pt/C ratio was 0.43) was suggested by E6, which disclosed a Pt/C ratio of 1.5.

1. Admissibility of the ground for opposition under Article 100 (b) EPC

1.1 In first-instance proceedings, the opposition division decided not to admit the late-filed ground under Article 100(b) EPC. As this was a discretionary decision, the role of the board is limited to reviewing the opposition division's exercise of discretion as conferred by Article 114(2) EPC.

1.2 In the case at issue, the opposition division held that this ground was not prima facie relevant. The appellant argued that the opposition division's conclusions were based on the wrong facts and assumptions. The board, however, does not see any misuse of the division's discretionary power or an error of judgement in this conclusion for the following reasons.

1.2.1 The opposition division referred in its decision to the arguments brought forward by the respondent that several standard methods were known to the skilled person and that it would be common knowledge to apply these methods to determine the dimension La (see the decision under appeal, pages 8 and 9). Thus, the opponent's arguments were taken into account and discussed and reasons were given why the ground for opposition was not accepted.

1.2.2 Independently of the final conclusion drawn, the board furthermore cannot see a wrong approach in the opposition division's attempt to verify whether the facts and arguments presented by the opponent were prima facie relevant.

The need to verify whether a newly cited ground for opposition could be detrimental to the maintenance of the patent at issue is already confirmed in the decision G 10/91 of the Enlarged Board of Appeal (see reasons 16). Thus, the opposition division's attempt to check the prima facie relevance of the facts and arguments brought forward by the opponent is not open to objection.

With regard to the approach applied, numerous decisions (e.g. T 0608/07 (reasons 2.5.2) or T 0450/13 (reasons 2.2.2)) may be cited which see the issue in the same way as the opposition division. The mere fact that in the prior art different methods exist for determining a parameter and that these methods may lead to differing results, with the consequence that the skilled person does not know whether he is working inside or outside the scope of protection of the claims, was in those decisions interpreted as addressing the question of the limits of protection conferred by the claims, and thus related to a requirement of Article 84 EPC rather than of Article 83 EPC.

Decision T 2403/11, presented by the respondent in this respect, does not appear to be relevant, as it deals with the skilled person's inability, in order to prepare stable and robust coatings, to re-work examples without indication of the method and device for determining viscosity and the kind of galactomannan (guar gum) used. Thus, a specific method and defined parameters needed to be identified before starting to carry out any measurements (reasons 2.5.2). In contrast, the respondent accepts that various methods of measurement of parameter La exist, but it was argued that they may lead to different results. For the board this does not a priori result in the skilled person's inability to select (any) one of these methods to obtain a catalyst falling within the definition of claim 1; at least no convincing proof in this respect showing the contrary has been demonstrated by the respondent.

1.2.3 Therefore, the board cannot see that the opposition based its decision on the wrong facts or assumptions.

2. Admissibility of E15

2.1 In the course of the oral proceedings the appellant requested the board to admit a document, referred to as E15, which was allegedly relevant with regard to novelty.

2.2 For the board, independently of the content of E15, the filing of a document at this very late stage of the proceedings is acceptable only in very exceptional circumstances. In the present case both claim requests at issue were already presented and served as a basis for discussion in opposition proceedings, the contested decision and the preliminary opinion of the board. Thus the appellant had ample opportunities to file relevant evidence at a much earlier stage of the proceedings.

In particular, no convincing reasons for the very late submission of the document were presented which would justify a different conclusion.

2.3 The board therefore exercises its power of discretion under Article 12(4) RPBA to hold this late-filed evidence inadmissible.

3. Main request - novelty

3.1 As the parties had different interpretations of the expression "a conductive carbon carrier having at least a surface graphitized" defined in claim 1 as granted, the board has to decide on the interpretation of the meaning of this feature in order to assess the novelty of the claimed subject-matter.

In this respect, interpreting the claims broadly, the board holds said expression to encompass in particular the term "graphite", which is a "conductive carbon carrier" the surface and the core of which are "graphitized". Given the wording of claim 1 "having at least a surface layer graphitized" and in contrast to the appellant's argument that the term "graphitized" ruled out pure graphite, the board is of the opinion that said expression does not exclude that the core of the conductive carbon carrier may be graphitised either.

3.2 It was common ground among the parties that all features other than the carbon particles were anticipated by E1. Bearing the above interpretation in mind, the sole issue to be decided as regards novelty over document E1 - which discloses (e.g. on page 16, second full paragraph) a nano-structured graphite obtained by grinding a graphite having preferred crystallite sizes La and Lc of at least 25 nm and 20 nm respectively - is whether or not E1 directly and unambiguously discloses a graphite having a crystallite size La of from 4.5 to 15 nm.

According to claim 1 of E1, the (ground) graphite has a crystallite size of 1 to 20 nm, with the consequence that the highest possible value for La can only be 20 nm. As E1 (page 16, second full paragraph) describes the optimum La size range of the graphite crystallite after grinding as being 1 nm or larger, it follows that E1 discloses a range of from 1 to 20 nm for La.

In comparison, claim 1 as granted defines the range of values for La of from 4.5 to 15 nm.

It is established case law of the boards of appeal that

a range taken out of a broader, known range can only be considered novel if certain criteria are met, among them that the selected range must be narrow in comparison to the broader, known range.

For the board, in the present case, the selected range (4.5 to 15 nm), amounting to more than half of the broader range of from 1 to 20 nm, is not considered to be "narrow", with the consequence, as established in the jurisprudence regarding selection inventions (e.g. T 198/84, reasons 5, or T 230/07, reasons 4.1.5), that the "first" criterion for acknowledging the novelty of such a claimed range is not satisfied, and so the subject-matter of claim 1 is not novel over the disclosure of document E1.

3.3 It follows from the above considerations that the main request does not meet the requirements of Article 54(1) and (2) EPC, and therefore it cannot be allowed.

4. Auxiliary request 1 - admissibility

Under Article 13(1) RPBA, it is at the board's discretion to admit any amendment to a party's case after the party has filed its grounds of appeal or reply.

4.1 In the present case, the appellant argued that the new request presented during the oral proceedings was supposed to overcome the novelty objection, in case the board of appeal decided that E1 anticipated claim 1 as granted.

4.2 Since the novelty objection was already known from the contested decision and since this objection had been confirmed by the board's preliminary opinion, the appellant thus had multiple opportunities for filing this request earlier, for instance with the grounds of appeal or with its response to the board's preliminary opinion. The appellant, however, decided not to do so, let alone to reply to the preliminary opinion.

4.3 rthermore, the appellant's arguments as to procedural economy and its explanation that the amendments were intended to overcome the arguments presented at this very late stage of the proceedings were not convincing to the board. The presentation of an amended set of claims at this very late stage of the proceedings was in contrast to procedural economy and was heavily objected to by the respondent. Furthermore, the change of the wording from "having at least a surface layer graphitized" to "having a surface layer graphitized" was prima facie not considered suitable to overcome the objections discussed above.

4.4 Thus, the board did not admit auxiliary request 1 into the appeal proceedings.

5. Auxiliary request 2

5.1 Amendments - Article 123(2) EPC

5.1.1 The board does not see any reason to depart from the conclusion of the opposition division that the claims of this request met the requirements of Article 123(2) EPC. In particular, a basis for the restriction of the range "0.05 to 2.4" to "1.5 to 2.4" in amended claim 1 can be found in the last paragraph of page 5 as originally filed (corresponding to paragraph [0020] of the published specification).

5.1.2 The respondent argued at the oral proceedings that the above amendment was contrary to Article 123(2) EPC. This objection had never been raised before in the appeal proceedings. Furthermore the argument that said amendment extended beyond the content of the application as filed appeared not to be prima facie relevant (see in particular point 5.1.1 above), and therefore the board exercised its discretion under Article 13(1) RPBA not to admit it.

5.2 Novelty

In the oral proceedings the respondent did not argue concerning lack of novelty, but merely referred to its written submissions, where reference was made to documents E1 and E4.

5.2.1 Document E1

Claim 1 of auxiliary request 2 contains, in comparison to claim 1 of the main request, a ratio of Pt/C mass of 1.5 to 2.4.

The corresponding ratio disclosed in the examples of E1 was calculated by the respondent to lie at a value of 0.43 (E1, Table 1). Thus, E1 does not destroy the novelty of the subject-matter of present claim 1.

5.2.2 Document E4

It cannot be derived directly and unambiguously that the carbon carrier has a graphitised surface layer and contains a ratio of Pt/C mass as claimed. Furthermore, no proof has been submitted that the "Shawinigan acetylene black" used in E4 is necessarily the same as the one described in E13. The properties of this carbon black do not appear to be properly defined, but even if this were the case, the Pt/C mass ratios referred to by the respondent would not fall within the claimed range.

Thus, the board concludes that both documents do not destroy the novelty of the subject-matter of claim 1. These considerations apply mutatis mutandis to dependent claim 2 and to claim 3, which refers to a solid polymer fuel cell comprising the electrode catalyst according to claim 1.

5.3 Inventive step

By applying the problem-solution approach, the board came to the conclusion that the claimed subject-matter involved an inventive step for the following reasons:

5.3.1 The parties agreed that document E1 was the best starting point to assess the inventive step of the claimed subject-matter, and so represented the closest prior art. The board shares this view.

As indicated above, E1 discloses ground graphite particles having a crystallite size La comprised between 1 and 20 nm.

In its examples, which do not disclose any La crystallite size, the graphite particles are coated inter alia with 30 mass% of platinum, which corresponds to a Pt/C ratio of 0.43. According to E1, the supported Pt catalyst is supposed to be used in a fuel cell.

5.3.2 According to the contested patent (paragraph [0016]), the problem underlying the invention consists in the provision of a catalyst having improved durability in a fuel cell.

5.3.3 As a solution to this problem, claim 1 at issue proposes a catalyst which is in particular characterised in that its Pt/C ratio is in the range of from 1.5 to 2.4.

5.3.4 For the board, it is credible that the problem identified in point 5.3.2 has been solved. Figure 1 of the patent in suit shows in this respect that fuel cells containing a catalyst having an La and a Pt/C ratio within the claimed ranges of values have an improved durability (as measured by the percent decrease in voltage after 3000 hours at 0.1 A/cm**(2)) in comparison to those containing catalysts having a lower La (see in this respect comparative examples 1 (Pt/C = 1.5; La = 3.3) and 2 (Pt/C = 1.5, La = 4.0)). So there is no need to reformulate the technical problem.

The respondent argued that the problem was not solved and that it had to be reformulated as the provision of a catalyst having worse durability than those of E1, because Figure 1 showed that fuel cells prepared with a catalyst having an La of 9.6 and a Pt/C ratio of 0.08 and 0.1 (examples 5 and 6 respectively) had a better durability than the catalyst of example 8, which fell within the scope of protection of claim 1, since it had a Pt/C of 2.4 and an La of 9.6.

The board cannot accept this line of argument because the catalysts of examples 5 and 6 are representative of embodiments which are no longer covered by the scope of protection of the claims, but they do not represent the closest prior art, since they have been prepared with a carbon having a graphitised shell while the catalysts according to the closest prior art E1, based on which the comparison is to be made, are supported on graphite. Since the respondent has neither reproduced the catalysts of E1 nor compared them with those presently claimed, its conclusion that the problem has not been solved over E1 cannot be accepted. Thus, the claimed invention is not obvious vis-à-vis E1 alone.

5.3.5 As regards the obviousness of the claimed subject-matter over the closest prior art, it has to be determined whether the proposed solution was obvious in the light of E1 in combination with either of the prior-art documents E4, E6 and E7.

- E4 (claims 1 to 5) discloses a fuel cell with an anode which comprises a catalyst comprising platinum and acetylene black or furnace carbon black as the support, with the loading of the catalyst being greater than 40% by weight. Example 3 of E4 discloses a catalyst made of Pt/Ru alloy and RuO2 (16%Pt/8% Ru as alloy/20% Ru as RuO2) supported on Shawinigan acetylene black. The respondent referred to document E13, Table I, to show that acetylene black (Shawinigan) had an La of 4.75 nm.

For the board, E4 cannot lead the skilled person to the claimed invention, because the Pt/C ratio in example 3 is 0.3, and the loading of 40% Pt in other examples (see Table 1) of E4 corresponds to a Pt/ratio of 0.67; so even if the skilled person faced with the problem underlying the invention had an incentive to use the teachings of E4, he would not arrive at the Pt/C ratio defined in claim 1 at issue.

- E6 (claims 1, 2, 8 and 10) discloses a catalyst for a fuel cell comprising one or more precious metals chosen from the group consisting of Pt, Pd, Rh, Os, Ru and Ir supported on a graphitised conductive carbon. On page 8, E4 discloses that platinum is the preferred precious metal and that it can be applied up to said carbon support in an amount of up to 60 mass%, but preferably 10 to 50 mass%.

The board is not convinced that E6 leads to the subject-matter of claim 1 at issue because it solves a different problem than the patent, namely the problem of corrosion resistance of the support (see E6, paragraph [0004]). E6 moreover does not disclose any La value of the graphitised conductive carbon; so no incentive could be found to combine its teaching with that of E1. But even if the teachings of these two documents were combined and the skilled person were to equate the improvement of the corrosion resistance with an improvement of the durability of the fuel cell as set out in the patent, he would not arrive at the subject-matter of claim 1 at issue because E6 teaches away from a Pt/C ratio of 1.5 (i.e. 60 mass%) to 2.4 (i.e. about 70 mass%), the platinum being no longer uniformly distributed at such loadings (see last three lines of page 8), and so the skilled person would rather choose platinum loadings of from 10 to 50 mass%, which are preferred in E6 (see paragraph [0023]) for the reasons indicated before, but outside the range of Pt/C values defined in claim 1 at issue.

- E7 discloses (claims 1, 4 and 8) a catalyst for fuel cells comprising inter alia a graphitised carbon support carrying from 30 to 70 mass% of platinum (claim 4). E7 addresses a similar problem to the patent, since it seeks high catalytic activity over a long period of time (see paragraph [0008]). E7, however, does not provide any information as to the La values of the graphitised carbon support, and owing to the extreme temperatures used for graphitisation (2800 to 3000 °C; see paragraph [0063]), which are much higher than those used in the patent (the highest being 2000°C in example 1), the board has doubts that the La values in E7 would be similar to those in the patent. As all the examples of E7 furthermore use an amount of platinum of 50 mass%, i.e. well below the lower limit of 1.5 (which amounts to 60 mass% Pt) of the Pt/C range defined in claim 1 at issue, the board is of the opinion that the skilled person faced with the problem underlying the invention would not combine the teaching of E1 with that of E7 and would not arrive in an obvious way at the subject-matter of claim 1 at issue.

5.4 It follows from the above considerations that the subject-matter of claim 1 of auxiliary request 2, and by the same token that of claims 2 and 3, which directly or indirectly include all the features of claim 1, is not obvious from the known prior art, and so involves an inventive step under Article 56 EPC.

Order

For these reasons it is decided that:

1. The decision under appeal is set aside.

2. The case is remitted to the department of first instance with the order to maintain the patent in amended form on the basis of auxiliary request 2, submitted as the former sole auxiliary request with the letter of 4 July 2013, and a description to be amended, if necessary.

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