GL H IV 3.6 Conflicts between Art. 123(3) and other requirements of the EPC

Other requirements of the EPC may also interact with Art. 123(3) after grant. For instance, if a patent as granted only contains claims that in fact define a "method for treatment of the human or animal body by therapy or surgery practised on the human or animal body" or contain such a method step, and such a patent is opposed under Art. 53(c), then Art. 53(c) and 123(3) may operate in combination so that the patent must inevitably be revoked, in that:[Art. 123(3); ]
– the patent cannot be maintained as granted because its claims define subject-matter which is excluded from patentability under Art. 53(c); and
– the patent cannot be maintained in amended form because amendment of the claims as granted by deletion of such "method features" would be contrary to Art. 123(3) (see T 82/93).

Source: http://www.epo.org/law-practice/legal-texts/html/guidelines/e/h_iv_3_6.htm

Date retrieved: 17 May 2021

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