DISCLAIMER (PATENT)

In patent law, a 'disclaimer' is an amendment consisting in limiting a claim of a patent or patent application by introducing a negative technical feature. It typically consists in excluding from a general feature specific embodiments or areas. During prosecution, such amendments are sometimes made by applicants to their application, with the hope of fulfilling some patentability criteria, such as the novelty criterion.
The allowability of disclaimers is usually subject to certain conditions, which may vary from one country to another.

Contents

European Patent Office (EPO)

References

See also

European Patent Office (EPO)

Under the case law of the Boards of Appeal of the EPO, disclaimers are allowed only in certain circumstances, as confirmed in G 1/03 and G 2/03 decisions.
"A disclaimer [which is not disclosed in the description] may be allowable in order to:

★ restore novelty by delimiting a claim against state of the art under ;

★ restore novelty by delimiting a claim against an accidental anticipation under ; an anticipation is accidental if it is so unrelated to and remote from the claimed invention that the person skilled in the art would never have taken it into consideration when making the invention; and

★ disclaim subject-matter which, under Articles 52 to 57 EPC, is excluded from patentability for non-technical reasons." [1]

References

★ Guidelines for Examination in the EPO, Part C

★
★ Chapter III, 4.12. Negative limitations (e.g. disclaimers) [2]

★
★ Chapter VI, 5.3.11. Disclaimers not disclosed in the application as filed [3]

★ Patentability of Negative Limitations at the USPTO [4]

See also

★ Proviso (patent)