European Patent Office Finds Plants and Plant Products Patent-Eligible

Morrison & Foerster LLP
Contact

On March 25, the Enlarged Board of Appeal (EBA) of the European Patent Office (EPO) handed a victory to those seeking to protect plant inventions in Europe. The EBA found that the essentially biological processes exclusion of Article 53(b) of the European Patent Convention (EPC) does not negatively affect the allowability of claims directed to plants or plant products.

The appeal concerned patents directed to the products of tomato and broccoli plants (i.e., tomato fruit and broccoli florets). At issue was whether the claims were patent-eligible given Article 53(b) EPC’s exclusion from patentability of “essentially biological processes for the production of plants.” The EPO’s Technical Board of Appeal referred the issue to the EBA, so it could resolve the important legal question. In its analysis, the EBA found that — like other patent-eligibility exclusions — the language of Article 53(b) should be construed narrowly.

Please see full publication below for more information.

LOADING PDF: If there are any problems, click here to download the file.

DISCLAIMER: Because of the generality of this update, the information provided herein may not be applicable in all situations and should not be acted upon without specific legal advice based on particular situations. Attorney Advertising.

© Morrison & Foerster LLP

Written by:

Morrison & Foerster LLP
Contact
more
less

PUBLISH YOUR CONTENT ON JD SUPRA NOW

  • Increased visibility
  • Actionable analytics
  • Ongoing guidance

Morrison & Foerster LLP on:

Reporters on Deadline

"My best business intelligence, in one easy email…"

Your first step to building a free, personalized, morning email brief covering pertinent authors and topics on JD Supra:
*By using the service, you signify your acceptance of JD Supra's Privacy Policy.
Custom Email Digest
- hide
- hide