W 0004/96 (Teeth whitening) of 20.12.1996 | XEPC: EPC and PCT resource

European Case Law Identifier:

ECLI:EP:BA:1996:W000496.19961220

Date of decision:

20 December 1996

Case number:

W 0004/96

Application number:

IPC class:

A61K 7/20

Language of proceedings:

Distribution:

Download and more information:

Decision text in EN (PDF, 543Â KB)
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Bibliographic information is available in:	EN
Versions:	OJ \| Published

Title of application:

Teeth whitening composition containing organic peroxyacids

Applicant name:

UNILEVER N.V., et al

Opponent name:

Board:

3.3.02

Headnote:

I. An objection of lack of unity may be raised "a posteriori" in regard to all categories of grouping of alternatives of chemical compounds.
II. The requirement of a technical relationship as defined in Rule 13.2, 1st sentence, PCT, may be met when all claimed alternatives belong to a class of compounds which may be expected to behave in the same way in the context of the claimed inventions ("Markush claims"). The technical relationship involves those common special technical features that define a contribution over the state of the art (Rule 13.2, 2nd sentence, PCT). However, such contribution cannot be recognized on the basis of this expectation if members of the class have already been shown in the prior art to behave in the manner disclosed in the application.

Relevant legal provisions:

Patent Cooperation Treaty Art 17(3)(a)
Patent Cooperation Treaty R 13(1)
Patent Cooperation Treaty R 13(2)
Patent Cooperation Treaty R 40(1)
Patent Cooperation Treaty R 40(2)(c)
Patent Cooperation Treaty R 40(2)(e)

Keywords:

Lack of unity a posteriori - yes
Absence of a common technical feature defining a contribution of the claimed Markush grouping over the prior art

Catchwords:

Cited decisions:

G 0001/89

Citing decisions:

W 0006/96
W 0001/02
W 0001/10

Source: http://www.epo.org/law-practice/case-law-appeals/recent/w960004ex1.html

Date retrieved: 17 May 2021