T 0886/15 -Technical considerations required when extracting features from drawings

The appeal in this case is against the decision of the Opposition Division to revoke European Patent EP-B-2012388. The patent was revoked under Art. 100(c) EPC, extension of subject matter.

Claim 1 of the Main Request in appeal included the added feature:

"wherein a first portion of the coil element does not overlap with the radiation plate (20) in a plan view of the power supply circuit board (10; 50)".

This feature was not literally disclosed in the claims nor in the description of the application as-filed. The applicant argued that the feature found basis in the figures, e.g., could be taken from Figure 23.

The Board disagreed. They were sceptical as to the technical significance of this feature, because the description emphasised that the radiation plate (20) was made of a non-magnetic material, such as copper or aluminum, which have a magnetic permeability close to the one of air. Hence, the technical relevance of the added feature was questionable. Also the description did not state any effect of the extracted feature.

T 1798/13 - Weather modeling regarded a "scientific theory", Art. 52 EPC

Art. 52(2)(a) EPC excludes "scientific theories" from the patentable inventions. For example, the physical theory of semiconductivity is not patentable. However, a new semiconductor device based on that theory may be patentable (EPO Guidelines, G-II, 3.2).

 

In T 1798/13 the Board regarded methods of forecasting the weather to be a mere "scientific theory" rather than a technical invention.

 

The appeal in this case is against the decision of the examination division to refuse EP 05796344.9.

Claim 1 of the Main Request reads:

"1. A method for forecasting a value of a weather-based structured financial product for steering of an optimal weather derivative portfolio based on specified weather measures comprising temperature and/or precipitation and/or hours of sunshine and/or heating degree days and/or cooling degree days and/or wind speed retrieved from a weather data measuring and monitoring system comprising: [...]"

According to the Examining Division