SONN Patentanwälte – IP Attorneys

Starting point for assessing inventive step

A disclosure within a prior art document can only be considered to represent a suitable starting point for assessing inventive step if the skilled person would have realistically started from it. An important consideration in this assessment generally is whether this disclosure aims at the same or a similar purpose or effect as that underlying the patent in question (EPO Board of Appeal 7/10/2021, T 2759/17).