T 0198/84 (Thiochloroformates) of 28.02.1985

A fairly broad range of numbers delimited by minimum and maximum values (in this case, >0 and <100 mol%) does not necessarily represent a disclosure, ruling out the selection of a subrange, of all the numerical values between these minimum and maximum values if the sub-range selected is narrow (in this case, 0.02 - 0.2 mol%) and sufficiently far removed from the known range illustrated by means of examples (in this case, 2 - 13 mol%). The sub-range is novel not by virtue of an effect which occurs only within it; but this effect permits the inference that what is involved is not an arbitrarily chosen specimen from the prior art but another invention (purposive selection).