Patents
The Format for Medical
Use Claims at the
European Patent Office
The European Patent Convention includes
provisions against patenting of medical methods.
Medical uses of compositions are, in principle,
patentable, but particular formats must be used.
The currently approved format for claiming first
and further medical uses of a composition is
“[Composition] for use in the treatment of [disease]”.
Further claim formats may also be desirable
to provide the best protection for a particular
medical invention. We recommend that you ask
us for advice before preparing claims to a medical
invention for filing at the EPO.
© Beck Greener 2013
Previously the EPO required claims for second or
further medical uses of a composition to be of the
so-called “Swiss-type” format. That is, the claim
was to “Use of [composition] in the preparation of
a medicament for the treatment of [disease]”. Such
claims are longer accepted, and the EPO will invite
the applicant to delete them.
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