3.4.3 Distribution of prospectuses, technical descriptions

In T 173/83 (OJ 1987, 465) and T 958/91 the board held that a technical description sent out to clients could not be regarded as secret information.

The board in T 2056/13 held, in relation to an operating manual with a copyright notice, that such notices did not normally imply an obligation to maintain secrecy. That there had been none in this particular case was anyway clear from the manual itself, which mentioned the possibility of its sale and dissemination and was therefore prior art for the purposes of Art. 54(2) EPC. (Argument of the opponent that copyright protection does not necessarily imply that the content is confidential rejected by the board in the circumstances of the case T 1570/14 – a joint development project.)