Law applied:
IntPatÜbkG Art. II § 6 I 1 No.2
Summary:
- A range of values that is limited in only one direction can be disclosed in an embodiment if the invention is not limited to opening up a specific range, but rather reveals a generalizable teaching that goes beyond this and enables the skilled person for the first time to search for further improvement possibilities and to exceed the maximum value specifically disclosed in the patent (confirmation of Federal Supreme Court BGH), judgments of March 12, 2019 - X ZR 32/17, GRUR 2019, 713 para. 45 - Cer-Zirkonium-Mischoxid I; X ZR 34/17, GRUR 2019, 718 para. 26 - Cer-Zirkonium-Mischoxid II).
- In the absence of a generalizable teaching in this sense, an upwardly limited range is only disclosed if the patent describes at least one concrete example of an embodiment that achieves the claimed maximum value or gives concrete indications as to how a further increase can be achieved on the basis of the examples described (confirmation of Federal Supreme Court BGH, judgment of April 6, 2021 - X ZR 54/19, GRUR 2021, 1043 para. 59 - Cerdioxid).
- These principles apply accordingly to a claimed lower limit if it is not readily possible to achieve a low value.
Federal Supreme Court (BGH), Judgment of December 3, 2024 – X ZR 131/22, GRUR 2025, 385
Download Judgment (machine translation)
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