European Patent Office

T 0351/19 of 23.06.2022

European Case Law Identifier
ECLI:EP:BA:2022:T035119.20220623
Date of decision
23 June 2022
Case number
T 0351/19
Petition for review of
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Application number
15183537.8
Language of proceedings
English
Distribution
Distributed to board chairmen (C)
OJ versions
No OJ links found
Other decisions for this case
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Abstracts for this decision
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Application title
AUTOMATED SESSION CLOSING UPON LOCATION-SENSED DEPARTURE
Applicant name
NCR Corporation
Opponent name
-
Board
3.4.03
Headnote
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Relevant legal provisions
European Patent Convention Art 111(1)European Patent Convention Art 52(1)European Patent Convention Art 56Rules of procedure of the Boards of Appeal 2020 Art 012(4)Rules of procedure of the Boards of Appeal 2020 Art 013(1)Rules of procedure of the Boards of Appeal 2020 Art 013(2)
Keywords
Inventive step - main request (no)
Late-filed auxiliary requests - admitted (no)
Catchword
According to the Comvik approach the non-technical features of a claim may be incorporated into a goal to be achieved in a non-technical field. Subsequently, the approach invokes what might be described as the legal fiction that this goal, including the claimed non-technical features, would be presented to the skilled person, who would be charged with the task of technically implementing a solution which would achieve the stated goal. The question whether the skilled person would "arrive" at the non-technical features does not therefore arise, as these features have been made known to the skilled person, as part of the goal to be achieved. The relevant question for the assessment of inventive step is whether it would be obvious for the skilled person to implement a technical solution corresponding to the claimed subject-matter (Reasons, point 3.12).
Citing cases
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Order

For these reasons it is decided that:

The appeal is dismissed