I. A claim wherein specific plant varieties are not individually
claimed is not excluded from patentability under Article 53(b),
EPC even though it may embrace plant varieties.
II. When a claim to a process for the production of a plant
variety is examined, Article 64(2) EPC is not to be taken into
consideration.
III. The exception to patentability in Article 53(b), 1st
half-sentence, EPC applies to plant varieties irrespective of
the way in which they were produced. Therefore, plant varieties
containing genes introduced into an ancestral plant by
recombinant gene technology are excluded from patentability.
