BOARDS OF APPEAL
Information from the Enlarged Board of Appeal
Communication from the Enlarged Board of Appeal concerning case G 2/08
In accordance with Article 112(1)(a) EPC, the Technical Board of Appeal 3.3.02 has referred the following points of law to the Enlarged Board of Appeal with interlocutory decision of 22.4.08 in case T 1319/04:
1. Where it is already known to use a particular medicament to treat a particular illness, can this known medicament be patented under the provisions of Articles 53(c) and 54(5) EPC 2000 for use in a different, new and inventive treatment by therapy of the same illness?
2. If the answer to question 1 is yes, is such patenting also possible where the only novel feature of the treatment is a new and inventive dosage regime?
3. Are any special considerations applicable when interpreting and applying Articles 53(c) and 54(5) EPC 2000?
The text of the referral in the English language is available on the website of the European Patent Office under www.epo.org/patents/appeals/pending.html.
The Enlarged Board of Appeal considering the referral will be composed as follows: P. Messerli (Chairman), J.-P. Seitz, P. Alting van Geusau, B. Günzel, U. Kinkeldey, S. Nathanael, B. Schachenmann.
It is expected that third parties will wish to use the opportunity to file written statements in accordance with Article 10 of the Rules of Procedure of the Enlarged Board of Appeal (OJ EPO 2007, 303 ff). To ensure that any such statements can be given due consideration without holding up the proceedings more than necessary, they should be filed together with any new cited documents by the end of October 2008 at the Registry of the Enlarged Board of Appeal, quoting case number G 2/08.