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Date of decision
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08 May 1996
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Case number
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T 0694/92
- 3.3.4
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Application number
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84302533.9
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Title of the application
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Plant gene expression
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Applicant name
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Mycogen Plant Science, Inc.
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Opponent name
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Unilever N.V.
Centerns Ungdomsförbund
Sandoz Ltd.
Monsanto Company
Koninklijk Kweekbedrijf en Zaadhandel D.J. van der Have B.V.
Stichting Oppositie Plantoctrooi p/a Studium Generale
Gen-Ethisches Netzwerk
Max-Planck-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Wissenschaften e.V.
Godehard Graf Hoensbroech
Die Grüne Alternative (Grüne)
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Headnote
I. Where an invention relates to the actual realisation of a
technical effect anticipated at a theoretical level in the prior
art, a proper balance must be found between, on the one hand,
the actual technical contribution to the state of the art by
said invention, and, on the other hand, the terms in which it is
claimed, so that, if patent protection is granted, its scope is
fair and adequate (see point 3 of the Reasons).
II. In cases where the gist of the claimed invention consists in
the achievement of a given technical effect by known techniques
in different areas of application and serious doubts exist as to
whether this effect can readily be obtained for the whole range
of applications claimed, ample technical details and more than
one example may be necessary in order to support claims of a
broad scope. Accordingly, claims of broad scope are not
allowable, if the skilled person, after reading the description,
is not able to readily perform the invention over the whole area
claimed without undue burden and without needing inventive skill
(see points 5 and 19 of the Reasons).
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Keywords
Main request - support by the description (no)
Sufficiency of disclosure (no)
First auxiliary request - support by the description (no)
Sufficiency of disclosure (no)
Second auxiliary request - added subject-matter (yes)
Third auxiliary request - support by the description (yes) -
fair generalisation
Sufficiency of disclosure (yes)
Novelty (yes)
Inventive step (yes) - no reasonable expectation of success
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