Recently published decisions
All board of appeal decisions released for publication in the last three months are shown in the list below (newest first). The website checks for new decisions daily and updates the list accordingly. For full lists per year, please access the subpages.
May 2025
1. The admittance of a substantively identical request in post-remittal proceedings is not excluded pursuant to Article 111(2) EPC if the facts underlying the Board's earlier decision for not admitting that request are not the same because a new objection was introduced in post-remittal proceedings (see 2.4).
2. When exercising the discretion to admit a party's request in post-remittal proceedings, the opposition division must take into account the framework defined in the appeal proceedings (see 2.5.1), as the prosecution of a case after remittal should in principle build upon the situation that existed at the end of the appeal proceedings that led to the remittal (see 2.5.2).
Inventive step - ex post facto analysis
Inventive step - non-obvious combination of known features
Inventive step - main request (yes)
Appeal decision - binding effect of appeal decision
Amendment to case - objection
Amendment to case - suitability of amendment to address issues (no)
Late-filed objection - admitted (no)
Inventive step - main request (no)
Inventive step - auxiliary request (no)
Inventive step - auxiliary request (yes)
Amendments - allowable (yes)
Late-filed evidence - should have been submitted in first-instance proceedings (no)
Late-filed evidence - admitted (yes)
Late-filed request - circumstances of appeal case justify admittance (yes)
Inventive step - (yes)
Inventive step - different starting points
Primary object of appeal proceedings to review decision - appeal case directed to objections on which decision was based (yes)
Activité inventive - (non)
Activité inventive - combinaison évidente de caractéristiques connues
Activité inventive - amélioration non crédible dans l'ensemble de la portée de la revendication
Modifications - admises (oui)
Modifications - preuves des connaissances générales
Inventive step - (no)
Amendment after notification of Art. 15(1) RPBA communication - taken into account (yes)