G 1/24 - How To Interpret Claims When Assessing Patentability

The long-awaited decision on G 1/24 was released yesterday. This decision affects the prosecution of every single patent application at the EPO, so it is little wonder that it has been followed with so much interest.

Background

A more complete summary of the case can be found in this article written by my colleague, but the main facts are below.

European patent No. 3076804 relates to a vaping device which can apply heat without igniting a substrate/material (e.g. tobacco). Claim 1 of the patent recites that the "substrate comprises a gathered sheet". The term "gathered sheet" is well known in the field of smoking devices, but the description of the granted patent gave the term a broader definition.