EPO T 1295/23

Decisions and documents (1)

• 2026-06-17appeal decision

  The fact that a document contains unreproducible subject-matter within the meaning of Article 83 EPC does not exclude it from being considered as prior art in the assessment of inventive step.; Since inventive step must be present vis-à-vis all prior art, the teaching in any prior-art document - without any ranking or distinction - could, in principle, be used as the starting point in the problem-solution analysis.; Accordingly, an insufficient disclosure of a prior-art method cannot prevent its selection as the closest prior art but instead could come into play after such a selection, in the context of obviousness of the solution.; (Reasons 21 to 30)

  🔒 Unlock Official PDF