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Date of decision
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03 December 2002
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Case number
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T 0966/99
- 3.2.6
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Application number
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92112711.4
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Title of the application
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Clean dry facing needled composite
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Applicant name
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McNEIL-PPC, INC.
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Opponent name
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SCA MOLNLYCKE AB
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Keywords
Admissibility of the appeal (yes)
Admendments - admissible (yes)
Novelty (yes)
Inventive step (yes)
Request to include in the decision certain reasoning in respect
of the non-allowability of a request withdrawn by the patentee -
rejected
Request to include in the minutes of oral proceedings the
statements made by the parties concerning the withdrawn request
- rejected
Referral of a question to the Enlarged Board of Appeal -
rejected
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Catchwords:
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Rule 66(2) EPC implies that a decision should be reasoned in so
far as the issues to be decided are concerned. Therefore, if the
patent proprietor withdraws a request for maintenance of the
patent on the basis of a set of claims, there is no longer a
procedural basis for the Board to include reasons in the
decision concerning the withdrawn request (point 7.1).
Rule 76(1) EPC does not require the Board to include statements,
which are no longer directly related to the requests on file, in
the minutes of oral proceedings for the sole purpose of
providing ammunition to the opponent in possible future
infringement proceedings. The exclusive jurisdiction of the
national courts for infringement proceedings pursuant to Article
64(3) EPC should not be prejudiced by opinions and
interpretations submitted during the appeal proceedings when
they no longer relate to the patent in the form in which it is
upheld by the Board (point 7.2.3).
A common practice of drafting the minutes of oral proceedings
based on Rule 76(1) EPC has been established by the Boards of
appeal from which practice the minutes drawn up by the present
Board do not deviate. The present situation therefore does not
give rise to a question of non-uniform application of the law
under Article 112(1)(a) EPC (point 7.3.1).
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