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BOARDS OF APPEAL

Information from the Enlarged Board of Appeal

Referrals by boards of appeal

I. By decision T 315/97 dated 17 December 1998, Technical Board of Appeal 3.4.2 has referred the following point of law to the Enlarged Board of Appeal under Article 112(1)(a) EPC:

(Language of the proceedings)

Must an amended claim which would put the opponent and sole appellant in a worse situation than if he had not appealed - eg by deleting a limiting feature of the claim - be rejected?

The case is pending as G 1/99.

II. By decision T 535/95 dated 12 April 1999, Technical Board of Appeal 3.2.4 has referred the following point of law to the Enlarged Board of Appeal under Article 112(1)(a) EPC:

(Translation)

If a priority is recognised for a European patent application, is the period of six months "preceding the filing of the European patent application" to be calculated for the purposes of Article 55(1) EPC from the date of filing of the priority application (priority date) or from the actual filing date of the European patent application?

The case is pending as G 2/99.1