T 0931/95 (Controlling pension benefits system/PBS PARTNERSHIP) of 08.09.2000
- European Case Law Identifier
- ECLI:EP:BA:2000:T093195.20000908
- Date of decision
- 8 September 2000
- Case number
- T 0931/95
- Petition for review of
- -
- Application number
- 88302239.4
- IPC class
- G06F 15/30
- Language of proceedings
- English
- Distribution
- Published in the EPO's Official Journal (A)
- Download
- Decision in English
- Other decisions for this case
- -
- Abstracts for this decision
- -
- Application title
- Improved pension benefits system
- Applicant name
- Pension Benefit Systems Partnership
- Opponent name
- -
- Board
- 3.5.01
- Headnote
1. Having technical character is an implicit requirement of the EPC to be met by an invention in order to be an invention within the meaning of Article 52(1)EPC. (following decisions T 1173/97 and T 935/97)
2. Methods only involving economic concepts and practices of doing business are not inventions within the meaning of Article 52(1) EPC. A feature of a method which concerns the use of technical means for a purely non-technical purpose and/or for processing purely non-technical information does not necessarily confer a technical character to such a method.
3. An apparatus constituting a physical entity or concrete product, suitable for performing or supporting an economic activity, is an invention within the meaning of Article 52(1) EPC.
4. There is no basis in the EPC for distinguishing between "new features" of an invention and features of that invention which are known from the prior art when examining whether the invention concerned may be considered to be an invention within the meaning of Article 52(1) EPC. Thus there is no basis in the EPC for applying this so-called contribution approach for this purpose. (following decisions T 1173/97 and T 935/97)
- Relevant legal provisions
- European Patent Convention Art 52(1) 1973European Patent Convention Art 52(2) 1973European Patent Convention Art 52(2)(c) 1973European Patent Convention Art 52(3) 1973European Patent Convention Art 56 1973European Patent Convention Art 84 1973Guidelines_C-IV, 1(1)Guidelines_C-IV, 1(2)Guidelines_C-IV, 2(2)
- Keywords
- Exclusion from patentability: of schemes, rules and methods for doing business (yes) - of apparatus constituting a physical entity for carrying out such method (no)
- Catchword
- -
- Citing cases
- G 0003/08T 0060/98T 0310/99T 1001/99T 0641/00T 0113/02T 0553/02T 0619/02T 0764/02T 0914/02T 1121/02T 0172/03T 0258/03T 0531/03T 0125/04T 0154/04T 0387/04T 1161/04T 1242/04T 0365/05T 0920/05T 1227/05T 0116/06T 0421/06T 0756/06T 0784/06T 1543/06T 1044/07T 1406/07T 1456/07T 1547/09T 1225/10T 2258/10T 0188/12T 1461/12T 0426/16T 0072/20
ORDER
For these reasons it is decided that:
The appeal is dismissed.