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ARTICLE · 11 APRIL 2022

Proving Technicality – Shifting The Burden Of Proof

J A Kemp
J A Kemp
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J A Kemp

J A Kemp

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A recent Decision of Technical Board of Appeal 3.5.01, T 0550/14 (Catastrophe relief/SWISS RE) of 14.9.2021, discusses the approach Examination and Opposition Divisions should take to raising objections...

United KingdomIntellectual Property
John Leeming
John Leeming
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A recent Decision of Technical Board of Appeal 3.5.01, T 0550/14 (Catastrophe relief/SWISS RE) of 14.9.2021, discusses the approach Examination and Opposition Divisions should take to raising objections of non-technical subject matter and the detail they must provide to support such objections. Significantly, the Board states that the Division is entitled to raise an objection that a feature or problem is prima facie non-technical supported only by the assertion that it lies in one of the excluded matters listed in EPC Art 52(2) "or a related or analogous field". Thereafter, the burden of proving that the feature or problem is technical lies with the applicant or proprietor.

The application at issue concerned a computer-implemented method for managing the funding of catastrophe relief efforts caused by natural or man-made disasters, such as earthquakes or storms. The method essentially involved a form of insurance provided by a special purpose vehicle with pay-outs

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