1.2.2 Cosmetic and beauty salons

In T 144/83 (OJ 1986, 301) the board stated that under Art. 57 EPC 1973 an invention was to be considered as susceptible of industrial application if it could be made or used in any kind of industry. Enterprises in the cosmetic field - such as cosmetic salons and beauty parlours - were part of industry within the meaning of Art. 57 EPC 1973, since the notion of "industry" implied that an activity was carried out continuously, independently and for financial gain. One board had already decided in T 36/83 (OJ 1986, 295) that the professional use of such inventions in a cosmetic salon was an industrial application within the meaning of Art. 57 EPC 1973.