因為疫情,抗體類專利也是過去幾年的熱門申請領域。本刊去年也曾報導過抗體類專利的一般說明與其進步性之界定方式 (G-II 5.6.2),本次更新雖無值得大書特書之處,卻也不失有耐人玩味的小細節。我們都知道,在美國專利實務下,要證明不具修飾/結合先前技術的動機與沒有對成功的合理期待 (reasonable expectation of success),才能斷言請求項相較於先前技術具有進步性。微妙的是本次抗體進步性的更新卻出現了 “… no reasonable expectation of success …” 的字眼 (如下圖),就不知是EPO真心認為可以向大洋對岸的同行借鑒一番,還是單純的「你累了嗎?」
資料來源:摘自EPO審查指南預覽
備註:
絕大多數狀況下,不會對說明書進行修正,因為會影響到最初 (申請時) 的揭露內容。
基於歐洲專利條約第84條,The claims shall define the matter for which protection is sought. They shall be clear and concise and be supported by the description.
是否可以理解為EPO態度上的軟化則有待時間去驗證。
For borderline cases where there is doubt as to whether an embodiment is consistent with the claims, the benefit of the doubt is given to the applicant.
When inviting the applicant to amend the description, the division provides examples of embodiments inconsistent with the independent claims and brief reasons why. If the inconsistency concerns describing a mandatory feature of an independent claim as optional, the division provides an example passage.