The "date of filing" in Art. 54(2) and Art. 54(3) is to be interpreted as meaning the date of priority in appropriate cases (see F‑VI, 1.2). Different claims, or alternative subject-matters claimed in one claim, may have different effective dates, i.e. the date of filing or (one of) the claimed priority date(s). The question of novelty must be considered against each claim (or part of a claim).

An invention is "considered to be new if it does not form part of the state of the art". The "state of the art" is defined as "everything made available to the public by means of a written or oral description, by use, or in any other way, before the date of filing of the European patent application". The width of this definition is to be noted.

In general it is required that the description of a European patent application must, where this is not self-evident, indicate the way in which the invention is capable of exploitation in industry. The invention claimed must have such a sound and concrete technical basis that the skilled person can recognise that its contribution to the art could lead to practical exploitation in industry (see T 898/05).

Methods of testing generally are regarded as inventions susceptible of industrial application and therefore patentable if the test is applicable to the improvement or control of a product, apparatus or process which is itself susceptible of industrial application. In particular, the utilisation of test animals for test purposes in industry, e.g. for testing industrial products (for example for ascertaining the absence of pyrogenetic or allergic effects) or phenomena (for example for determining water or air pollution) would be patentable.

1. General remarks

2. Method of testing

3. Industrial application vs. exclusion under Art. 52(2)

4. Sequences and partial sequences of genes