The Board of Appeal in T 697/22 has referred questions to the Enlarged Board of Appeal (EBA) concerning whether the description should be amended to address any inconsistencies with the claims. The referral is now pending as G1/25.
The questions referred by the Board of Appeal are as follows:
- If the claims of a European patent are amended during opposition proceedings or opposition-appeal proceedings, and the amendment introduces an inconsistency between the amended claims and the description of the patent, is it necessary, to comply with the requirements of the EPC, to adapt the description to the amended claims so as to remove the inconsistency?
- If the first question is answered in the affirmative, which requirement(s) of the EPC necessitate(s) such an adaptation?
- Would the answer to questions 1 and 2 be different if the claims of a European patent application are amended during examination proceedings or examination-appeal proceedings, and the amendment introduces an inconsistency between the amended claims and the description of the patent application?
It remains to be seen whether the EBA will accept the referral and, if so, whether the questions will be modified by the EBA before they are answered.
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