T 1173/00 (Transformer with high-temperature superconductor for locomotives) of 5.6.2003

European Case Law Identifier: ECLI:EP:BA:2003:T117300.20030605
Date of decision: 05 June 2003
Case number: T 1173/00
Application number: 93115499.1
IPC class: H01F 36/00
Language of proceedings: DE
Distribution: A
Download and more information:
Decision text in EN (PDF, 41 KB)
Documentation of the appeal procedure can be found in the Register
Bibliographic information is available in: DE | EN | FR
Versions: OJ
Title of application: -
Applicant name: ALSTOM Holdings
Opponent name: ABB Patent GmbH
Board: 3.5.02
Headnote: I. If the only embodiment disclosed with concrete details in a patent is not disclosed in a manner sufficiently complete for the claimed invention (in this instance a railway traction unit with a liquid-nitrogen-cooled superconductive transformer) to be carried out by a person skilled in the art on the date of priority with respect to the fundamental scope of said invention, it is of no significance with regard to the question of sufficient disclosure whether on the relevant date of filing a variant (in this instance a railway vehicle with a liquid-helium-cooled transformer) could have been carried out if the variant, although it is covered by the wording of the patent claim, does not fall within the fundamental scope of the claimed invention with regard to the teaching of the patent due to a lack of comparable technical success (see point 3.3).
II. If an invention is insufficiently disclosed, it is of no relevance whether it was objectively impossible to provide the missing information on the date of priority, ie whether nobody could have achieved the intended and claimed technical effect. The decisive issue is whether the invention is disclosed in a manner sufficiently complete for it to be carried out by an average person skilled in the art on the date of priority, with knowledge of the patent and on the basis of that person's common general knowledge (see point 3.9).
Relevant legal provisions:
European Patent Convention 1973 Art 100(b)
Keywords: Sufficient disclosure (no)
Ability of the inherent technical teaching to be carried out on the date of priority (no)
Catchwords:

-

Cited decisions:
G 0002/93
T 0292/85
T 0409/91
T 0435/91
T 0612/92
T 0412/93
T 0881/95
Citing decisions:
T 1153/00
T 0043/07

Source: http://www.epo.org/law-practice/case-law-appeals/recent/t001173ep1.html

Date retrieved: 17 May 2021

11 references found.

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Offical Journal of the EPO

Case Law Book: II Conditions to be met by an Application

Case Law of the Enlarged Board

General Case Law