T 1246/21 of 14.07.2023
- European Case Law Identifier
- ECLI:EP:BA:2023:T124621.20230714
- Date of decision
- 14 July 2023
- Case number
- T 1246/21
- Petition for review of
- -
- Application number
- 11741336.9
- Language of proceedings
- English
- Distribution
- No distribution (D)
- Download
- Decision in English
- OJ versions
- No OJ links found
- Other decisions for this case
- -
- Abstracts for this decision
- Abstract on EPC2000 Art 056
- Application title
- AN OPTICAL SYSTEM DEMONSTRATING IMPROVED RESISTANCE TO OPTICALLY DEGRADING EXTERNAL EFFECTS
- Applicant name
- Visual Physics, LLC
- Opponent name
- Giesecke+Devrient Currency Technology GmbH
- Board
- 3.4.02
- Headnote
- -
- Relevant legal provisions
- European Patent Convention Art 100(c)European Patent Convention Art 123(2)European Patent Convention Art 56European Patent Convention Art 84Rules of procedure of the Boards of Appeal 2020 Art 012(6)
- Keywords
- Grounds for opposition - subject-matter extends beyond content of earlier application (yes)
Late-filed request - admitted (no)
Amendments - extension beyond the content of the application as filed (yes)
Inventive step - (no)
Inventive step - obvious combination of known features - Catchword
- Since Article 56 EPC and the final stage of the problem-solution approach both consider what is obvious to a person skilled in the art, an inventive step cannot be acknowledged solely on the finding that the claimed subject-matter is not directly and unambiguously disclosed from the combination of two documents.
In other words, when considering the question of whether an invention is obvious starting from a document representing the closest prior art in combination with another document, it is not the mere sum of the teachings of these two documents that has to be considered; the skilled person's common general knowledge and skills must also be taken into account when combining the two documents. - Cited cases
- -
- Citing cases
- -
Order
For these reasons it is decided that:
The appeal is dismissed.