European Patent Office

T 0315/97 of 21.06.2002

European Case Law Identifier
ECLI:EP:BA:2002:T031597.20020621
Date of decision
21 June 2002
Case number
T 0315/97
Petition for review of
-
Application number
86308961.1
IPC class
G02B 5/128
Language of proceedings
English
Distribution
Distributed to board chairmen and members (B)
OJ versions
No OJ links found
Abstracts for this decision
-
Application title
Revêtement rétroréflecteur à lentilles encapsulées et méthode de fabrication
Applicant name
Minnesota Mining
Opponent name
Nippon Carbide Industries Co.
Ltd.
Board
3.4.02
Headnote
-
Keywords
Novelty (yes)
Inventive step (no)
Proper construction of claim 1
Reformatio in peius (1st auxiliary request: no; 2nd and 3rd auxiliary request: inadmissible)
Catchword
A claim was directed to a method for manufacturing a product. The method comprised manufacturing conditions the presence or absence of which during manufacture could not be ascertained in a reliable and generally accepted way but could only be derived from a property observed on the obtained product.
For the purpose of establishing whether a method disclosed in a prior art document anticipated the claimed method, the Board construed the feature relating to the manufacturing conditions as if it defined the property observed on the obtained product (point 3.1 of the reasons).
Cited cases
G 0001/99

ORDER

For these reasons it is decided that:

1. The decision under appeal is set aside.

2. The patent is revoked.