5. Claims supported by the description

In T 695/16, while the examining division had found claim 1, directed to a sprayhead, to be clear and concise, it had considered neither the figures nor the description of the preferred embodiment to describe in detail at least one way of carrying out the invention claimed (R. 42(1)(e) EPC). The claims were broader than justified by the extent of the description and drawings and were thus not supported by the description (Art. 84 EPC). It had refused the application on this basis. Setting the decision aside, the board noted that feature a ("projection" of the circular collar) and feature b ("non-rotating feature" of the inner surface of the over-cap) in the characterising part of claim 1 were indisputably clear to the skilled person, i.e. their structural form, function and interrelation were clear. It was further undisputed that in the description there was at least a verbatim repetition of the characterising features of claim 1. This meant that said features were also disclosed, obviously also in a clear manner, in the description, thereby supporting the wording of claim 1, and the scope of the claims was not broader than justified by the extent of the description. What the examining division considered to be the "missing link" between claim 1 and the description that rendered claim 1 not supported was the lack of denomination of features a and b in the figures and in the text of the description referring to the example presented therein. However, since features a and b were per se clear, a specific denomination of these in the part of the description directed to the specific embodiment depicted in the figures was not mandatory. Any reading of the description and viewing of the figures must be done with the knowledge that features a and b were present and interacted to produce audible signals. The skilled person would recognise the relevant features in the figures, and thereby have a detailed description of them, including their location and their shape. The sprayhead depicted in the figures met the requirements of R. 42(1)(e) EPC in that one way of carrying out the invention claimed was illustrated. In conclusion, both this provision and Art. 84 EPC were met.