SONN Patentanwälte – IP Attorneys

1. Pending requests must be decided on

   The refusal of a Board of Appeal to decide on a pending request is a fundamental procedural defect within the meaning of Art 112a(2)(d) EPC. In such a case, the decision of the Board of Appeal is to be set aside and the case is to be remitted to the Board of Appeal (EPO-EBoA...

2. Exclusion and objection against members of the Enlarged Board of Appeal

   The fact that a judge has expressed an opinion on a legal issue that is to be decided upon in a case is not in itself and not always a ground for suspicion of partiality (see also G 3/08 and G 2/08). However, the direct involvement in the passage of legislation, which is closely relates to the referred...

3. Referral to the Enlarged Board of Appeal

   Is the conduct of oral proceedings in the form of a videoconference compatible with the right to oral proceedings as enshrined in Article 116(1) EPC if not all of the parties to the proceedings have given their consent to the conduct of oral proceedings in the form of a videoconference (EPA BoA 12...

4. Computer-implemented simulations are patentable under certain conditions

   In the context of assessing inventive step, a computer-implemented simulation of a technical system or process that is claimed as such can solve a technical problem by producing a technical effect going beyond the simulation’s implementation on a computer. For that assessment it is not a sufficient...