EPO, T 0528/07- computer system for providing a B2B-relationship portal

T 0528/07, 27 April 2010 – computer system for providing a B2B-relationship portal

Aus der Entscheidungsbegründung (zu Art. 52 (2) d) EPÜ):

Two different interpretations of decision T 115/85 exist in the jurisprudence: either the visual indications must concern technical conditions of the system in order to relate to a technical problem (T 833/91), or they may also concern non-technical conditions (T 717/05).

The present Board will follow the more restrictive approach according to which only technical conditions of a system can be taken into account. This line has also been taken in other decisions of the Boards of Appeal (see eg T 790/92, point 4.6; T 953/94, point 3.1; T 1161/04, point 4.5; T 1567/05, point 3.7; T 756/06, point 13). Moreover, the clear character of exception of this approach appears to be more consistent with the exclusion of „presentations of information“ pursuant to Article 52(2)(d) EPC.

The present Board will therefore regard features that indicate non-technical conditions of the claimed system, such as data relating to a business undertaking, as not contributing to an inventive step.