Plausibility And Inventive Step – Two Critical Hurdles For Patenting

In the case discussed below, the European Patent Office considers the validity of a patent which is granted on the basis of information which is only published after the patent is filed. Plausibility and information supplied after the filing of a patent application or during an opposition against a patent is critically important in establishing patentability of an invention.

The following sketch schematically illustrates the interplay between inventive step, scope of the claims, disclosure and supplemental data provided after the filing date of a patent application.

In a nutshell, the more the original disclosure of a patent application lacks support of the invention, the lower the plausibility that the invention actually solves the problem asserted. Where not even plausibility is given, the asserted invention may hardly justify the grant of a patent. On the other hand, the more disclosure and plausibility, the more enablement is supported for an invention,