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IPA patent 6.1.4.5-intermediate-and-final-products-in-chemical-applications
IPA patent 6.1.4.5-intermediate-and-final-products-in-chemical-applications — IP Australia Patent Manual of Practice and Procedure – 6.1.4.5 Intermediate and Final Products in Chemical Applications
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Also in this Chapter:
6.1.4.1 Unity of Invention Background
6.1.4.2 Determining Lack of Unity
6.1.4.3 Combinations of Different Categories of Claims
6.1.4.4 Markush Practice
6.1.4.6 Biotechnological Inventions
6.1.4.7 Single General Inventive Concept
6.1.4.8 A Priori and A Posteriori Lack of Unity
6.1.4.9 Issuing the Invitation to Pay Additional Search Fees
6.1.4.10 Unsupported, Unclear, Long and/or Complex Claim Sets with Clear Lack of Unity
6.1.4.11 Payment of Additional Search Fees Under Protest
6.1.4.12 Completing the Search Report
6.1.4.13 Time for Completing the Search Report
6.1.4.14 Reported Decisions on Unity
6.1.4.15 Other Decisions from the EPO
Key Legislation:
PCT ISPE Guidelines:
Chapter 10 Unity of Invention
Paragraph 10.18
Paragraph 10.28–10.33
The term ‘intermediate’ includes both intermediate and starting products that are used to produce the final products (PCT/GL/ISPE/12 at paragraph 10.18) .
When considering claims to intermediate and final products 2 conditions need to be fulfilled for unity of invention to exist.
The intermediate and final products have the same essential structural element, in that either:
the basic chemical structures of the intermediate and the final products are the same
the chemical structures of the two products are technically closely interrelated, the intermediate incorporating an essential structural element into the final product.
The intermediate and final products are technically interrelated.
Technically interrelated means that the final product is manufactured directly from the intermediate or is separated from it by a small number of intermediates all containing the same essential structural element.
See paragraphs 10.28–10.33 (examples 8 to 13) of the PCT International Search and Preliminary Examination Guidelines for cases of intermediates and final products.