The Plot Thickens... G 1/24 (And G 1/25): EPO Update

As we have previously reported, in last year's decision G 1/24, the Enlarged Board of Appeal (EBA) of the European Patent Office (EPO) confirmed that the description and drawings of a patent specification should always be taken into consideration when determining the scope of the claims for the purposes of assessing patentability (novelty and inventive step).

(And, as also reported here, in pending referral G 1/25, the EBA is currently being asked to decide whether there is any legal basis in the European Patent Convention (EPC) for the EPO to require the description of a patent or patent application to be amended so as to be in line with amendments made to the claims. More on that later...)