T 0022/82 (Bis-epoxy ethers) of 22.06.1982

1. Where, because of an existing need, an applicant sets himself the task of developing an economically and technologically advantageous new complete chemical process for the preparation of known and desired end products (in this case, flavour substances), the solution to such a problem may be inventive if - despite the choice of the same starting materials as for the nearest comparable process in the state of the art - the advantageous result actually achieved is surprising (in this case quantitatively). If that result (in this case higher overall yield) is achieved via new intermediates made available in the course of the complete process, the "process effect" will also support the inventive step for the intermediates themselves, without which the advantageous complete process is not conceivable.

2. Even where there is no such (exact) comparison, new chemical intermediates still satisfy the patentability criterion of inventive step if their being made available opens the way to a new chemical process for preparing known and desired end products, itself involving an inventive step.

3. When examining a multi-stage chemical process for inventive step, the complete process must be considered integrally from the perspective of the task set, to establish whether,looking back from the target substance to the starting materials, the complete process was obvious.