T 0158/88 (Character form) of 12.12.1989

European Case Law Identifier: ECLI:EP:BA:1989:T015888.19891212
Date of decision: 12 December 1989
Case number: T 0158/88
Application number: 84112599.0
IPC class: G09G 1/00
B41J 3/00
Language of proceedings: DE
Distribution:
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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: Siemens
Opponent name: -
Board: 3.4.01
Headnote: 1. The statement in a patent claim that technical means (in this case a visual display unit) are to be used to carry out a process is not alone sufficient to render patentable within the meaning of Article 52(1) EPC a process which is in essence a computer program as such.
2. A computer program is not considered part of a technical operating procedure if the claimed teaching merely modifies the data and produces no effects beyond information processing.
3. If the data to be processed by a claimed process neither constitute the operating parameters of a device (but, as here, forms the word elements of a language) nor affect the physical/ technical functioning of the device (but, as here, supply visual information for a viewer) and if the claimed process does not solve a technical problem (but, as here, generates complete orthographically correct character forms), the invention defined in the claim does not use technical means and under Article 52(2) (c) and (3) EPC cannot be regarded as patentable within the meaning of Article 52(1) EPC. (Cf. T 26/86, "X-ray apparatus/KOCH & STERZEL", OJ EPO 1988, 19.)
Relevant legal provisions:
European Patent Convention 1973 Art 52(1)
European Patent Convention 1973 Art 52(2)(c)
European Patent Convention 1973 Art 52(3)
Keywords: Patentability - computer program
Technical character
Catchwords:

-

Cited decisions:
-
Citing decisions:
T 1670/07

Source: http://www.epo.org/law-practice/case-law-appeals/recent/t880158ep1.html

Date retrieved: 17 May 2021

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