T 1208/21 - Claim interpretation

Key points

• The proprietor argues a narrow interpretation of the claim in connection with inventive step.
• "the expression "gas turbine blade", is clear for a skilled person in the field of axial turbo-machinery. Knowledge in this field encompasses knowledge on inter alia gas turbine engines, their general structure, components and operating conditions. The skilled person will be aware that a gas turbine engine is generally composed of (seen in axial direction of incoming air flow) a compressor section for compressing the incoming air, a burner or combustor for combusting fuel in the presence of the compressed air and a downstream turbine section in which the exhaust gases resulting from the combustion drive the turbine (for example to generate electrical power). The skilled person will also be aware that the compressor and turbine sections are each composed of one or more stages of alternating rows of respective stationary blades (frequently also called vanes or nozzles) and rotating blades."
• "It is undisputed that the expression "gas turbine" can be understood by the skilled person to refer either to the entire gas turbine engine or to only the turbine section of such engine. Both interpretations are technically reasonable, and no argument or evidence has been submitted to the contrary. Similarly, the term "blade" used in this context will be understood by the skilled person to designate either a rotating or a stationary blade, without any of these understandings being technically unreasonable or illogical."
• "The opposition division was therefore correct to reject the respondent's [proprietor's]  approach of a limited interpretation of the claim in the light of the description, on which the respondent in essence also relied in the present appeal proceedings. The respondent's arguments submitted with its statement of grounds of appeal are found unconvincing for the following reasons."
• "The Board considers that the principles summarised by the respondent on the basis of certain passages taken from decisions T 454/89, T 860/93 and T 1127/03 [...] do not lead to the conclusion that a claim which has a clear meaning for the skilled person shall be given a limited interpretation in the light of the description. In particular, the Board cannot find any consideration in the passages from these decisions referred to by the respondent, nor from the broader context from which the citations have been taken, which would support the respondent's conclusion that, if the wording of a claim is clear within the meaning of Article 84 EPC, the broadest technically reasonable interpretation [] would [read: can? ] be excluded."
• "In analogy to, for example, the situation underlying decision T 454/89 referred to by the respondent, in which it was held that a lack of clarity in a claim could not be cured by relying "on Article 69 EPC as a replacement for the Article 84 requirements, i.e. as a substitute for an amendment which would be necessary to remedy a lack of clarity", (ibid., reasons 4.1.(viii)), also in the context of the requirements of Article 54 and 56 EPC, a technically reasonable and not illogical understanding of the claim wording cannot be restricted by reference or an amendment to the description. In such a situation, it would, rather, be the claim wording that would require amendment (see for example T 1628/21, reasons 1.1.18)."
• The general principle: "A claim which is clear by itself should be interpreted as broadly as technically reasonable in the relevant technical field. This represents the commonly accepted approach on claim interpretation by the Boards of Appeal when assessing inter alia the patentability requirements of Articles 54 and 56 EPC, as was also confirmed in recent decisions, for example T 1628/21, reasons 1.1.2 and 1.1.7, or T 447/22 reasons 13.1 (see also the case law cited in these decisions). "
• " Moreover, the description of the patent in suit does not lead to a different conclusion either. The description of the patent as granted states in the final sentence of paragraph 1: "Generally, the gas turbine blade according to the present invention is not restricted to a gas turbine: rotor blades or guide vanes of a turbo-machinery fall legally under the present invention". "
  
  

EPO 

You can find the link to the decision after the jump.

https://www.epo.org/en/boards-of-appeal/decisions/t211208eu1