The Board of Appeal in T697/22 referred questions to the Enlarged Board of Appeal regarding whether the description should be amended to address any inconsistencies with the claims. The case is pending as G1/25 and oral proceedings by videoconference have now been scheduled for 8 May 2026.
We have previously commented on the referral in our Technical Briefing note. To briefly recap, the questions referred by the Board of Appeal are as follows:
- If the claims of a European patent are amended during opposition proceedings or opposition-appeal proceedings, and the amendment introduces an inconsistency between the amended claims and the description of the patent, is it necessary, to comply with the requirements of the EPC, to adapt the description to the amended claims so as to remove the inconsistency?
- If the first question is answered in the affirmative, which requirement(s) of the EPC necessitate(s) such an adaptation?
- Would the answer to questions 1 and 2 be different if the claims of a European patent application are amended during examination proceedings or examination-appeal proceedings, and the amendment introduces an inconsistency between the amended claims and the description of the patent application?
Members of the public can watch the oral proceedings via a livestream.
A link to the livestream will be published as of 30 April 2026.
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