Selected in-depth reviews to the “Case Law of the Boards of Appeal”, 10th edition
New editions of the “Case Law of the Boards of Appeal” are published every three years. To keep users informed of the developments in their case law, the Boards of Appeal are pleased to introduce interim revisions and updates of selected sections of the publication in advance of the next full triennial edition. These revisions incorporate case law up to 31 December 2023 and are available in all three languages.
The revised sections are as follows:
Part I Patentability
- Patentable inventions (sections I.A.1. through I.A.6.4.)
- Determination of the objective technical problem in general (I.D.4.1.)
- Post-published evidence and reliance on a purported technical effect for inventive step ("plausibility") (I.D.4.3.3)
Part II Patent application and amendments
- Bringing the description in line with the claims (II.A.5.3.)
- Interpretation of claims (II.A.6.)
- Sufficiency of disclosure: Evidence, General principles (II.C.9.1.)
Part III Rules common to all proceedings before the EPO
- Format of oral proceedings (III.C.7.3.)
- Law of evidence: Introduction (III.G.1.)
- Evaluation of evidence (sections III.G.4.1., III.G.4.2.2b), and III.G.4.3.)
- Shifting of the burden of proof: sufficiency of disclosure (III.G.5.2.2c))
- Rules relating to fees: entire chapter (III.U.)
Part IV Proceedings before the departments of first instance
Part V Proceedings before the Boards of Appeal
Part VI EPO acting as a PCT authority
- Entire chapter (VI.)
The revised sections as well as the updated table of contents and detailed table of contents are available in the HTML version only. The revisions may have caused some renumbering of subsequent sections. Any changes to the relevant webpages, whether by way of updates or renumbering, are flagged accordingly with a notice in the heading. The PDF version remains unchanged from the original 10th edition of July 2022.
Carl Josefsson
President of the Boards of Appeal