Old grants in 2017

Key points

• EP0752645 is a European patent application filed in 1996 (not a divisional application), with mention of the grant published on 22.11.2017.
• It is also the only patent application with publication date in 1997, that was granted in 2017. 
• After filing in 1996, the Searchr report was issued in 2001, the first Communication from the ED in 2008, and then the next action of the Examinging Division was a Rule 71(3) in 2017. 

There were 9 applications granted in 2017 with an application published in 1998 (hence, no divisionals), hence with actual filing date in 1997 or 1998. 

• For instance EP0825741: filing in 1997, Search report in 2003, First communication ED in 2007, next action is intention to grant in 2016. 
• Most of the 9 applications are about IT and have a gap of about 8 years between the first Communication of the ED and the next action, typically between 2008 and 2016. 
• EP0865784 is not about IT but about a medical elastic material. Still: filing in 1998, search report in 2001, first action ED in 2007, second action in 2017 (same Examiner as in 2007).

By the way, the Boards are  not perfect either. In 2017, there were 3 decision published (i.e. issued in writing) with appeal filed in 2009 (case number ending with /09): T10719/09 (Board 3.5.05; admissibility appeal), T1408/09 (Board 3.5.01; headnote about PSA) and T2465/09 (Board 3.5.01; straightforward case), and one decision in a case from 2008: T0545/08 (Board  3.5.07), although that decision is extensively reasoned.

The oldest case with a decision issued  in 2018 is T 2331/10: decision 15.12.2017 (in writing 26.04.2018), in an examination appeal. Notice of appeal 07.09.2010, first action of the Board: summons issued 1.07.2017. The application is refused for lack of clarity, and lack of inventive step using an entirely routine Comvik reasoning: 

"The distinguishing features refer to the modeling of data, the transformation of data signals by the use of algorithms and data models, which in themselves do not achieve a technical effect and cannot contribute to an inventive step. This is part of a non-technical problem which is to produce a more accurate production forecast, which per se is an intellectual activity, following from T 49/99 [.] The technical part of the solution is self-evident; it is a straightforward implementation of a non-technical modelling and forecasting process using commonplace and well-known computer technology."


Addendum 02.07.2018: The Boards of Appeal actually are open about the number of old pending cases, see the graph below from the BoA Annual Report 2017 (CA/19/18).