T 0158/88 (Character form) of 12.12.1989
- European Case Law Identifier
- ECLI:EP:BA:1989:T015888.19891212
- Date of decision
- 12 December 1989
- Case number
- T 0158/88
- Petition for review of
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- Application number
- 84112599.0
- Language of proceedings
- German
- Distribution
- Published in the EPO's Official Journal (A)
- Download
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- Other decisions for this case
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- Abstracts for this decision
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- Application title
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- Applicant name
- Siemens
- Opponent name
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- Board
- 3.4.01
- Headnote
1. The statement in a patent claim that technical means (in this case a visual display unit) are to be used to carry out a process is not alone sufficient to render patentable within the meaning of Article 52(1) EPC a process which is in essence a computer program as such.
2. A computer program is not considered part of a technical operating procedure if the claimed teaching merely modifies the data and produces no effects beyond information processing.
3. If the data to be processed by a claimed process neither constitute the operating parameters of a device (but, as here, forms the word elements of a language) nor affect the physical/ technical functioning of the device (but, as here, supply visual information for a viewer) and if the claimed process does not solve a technical problem (but, as here, generates complete orthographically correct character forms), the invention defined in the claim does not use technical means and under Article 52(2) (c) and (3) EPC cannot be regarded as patentable within the meaning of Article 52(1) EPC. (Cf. T 26/86, "X-ray apparatus/KOCH & STERZEL", OJ EPO 1988, 19.)
- Relevant legal provisions
- European Patent Convention Art 52(1) 1973European Patent Convention Art 52(2)(c) 1973European Patent Convention Art 52(3) 1973
- Keywords
- Patentability - computer program
Technical character - Catchword
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- Cited cases
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- Citing cases
- T 1670/07
ORDER
For these reasons it is decided that: The appeal is dismissed.