How does the EPO handle patent applications in biotechnology?
The EPO either grants or refuses biotechnology patents in accordance with the relevant European patent law. In principle, biotechnology inventions have to meet the same criteria as those in any other technical field. What are those criteria? In a nutshell, European patent protection can be granted for any invention which: • is new • is susceptible of industrial application • involves an inventive step But given the nature of biotechnology and its socio-political implications, various other rules also apply. These are partly based on the decision by the European Union (EU) to introduce secondary legislation concerning the patentability of inventions in this field.
