How the admissibility of amendments is assessed will depend on the type of procedure (examination, opposition or limitation) and on the stage of the proceedings, as detailed in the following sections.

A European patent application or European patent may be amended in examination, opposition and limitation proceedings. With regard to amendments filed in such proceedings, there are a number of important aspects to consider. Firstly, amendments must be admissible, i.e.

As a general rule, there is an inventive step if the prior art leads the person skilled in the art away from the procedure proposed by the invention. This applies in particular when the skilled person would not even consider carrying out experiments to determine whether these were alternatives to the known way of overcoming a real or imagined technical obstacle.

Example: Drinks containing carbon dioxide are, after being sterilised, bottled while hot in sterilised bottles.

2.1 Obvious and consequently non-inventive combination of features:

The invention consists merely in the juxtaposition or association of known devices or processes functioning in their normal way and not producing any non-obvious working interrelationship.

Example: Machine for producing sausages consists of a known mincing machine and a known filling machine disposed side by side.

2.2 No

1. Application of known measures?

2. Obvious combination of features?

3. Obvious selection?

4. Overcoming a technical prejudice?