a) Principles 

Article 69 EPC and its Protocol are to be applied in proceedings before the EPO whenever it is necessary to determine the protection conferred. In this context, the national laws of the contracting states relating to infringement should not be considered. Rather the protection conferred by a patent is determined by the terms of the claims, and in particular by the categories of the claims and their technical features, in accordance with Art. 69(1) EPC and its Protocol (G 2/88, OJ 1990, 93; see also e.g. T 81/03, T 547/08, T 1832/17 and T 970/17, all with reference to G 2/88, and in this chapter II.E.2.3.1b)).