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Early interpretation of G1/25 by the EPO Boards of Appeal suggests a softening of the EPO’s stance on description amendments

The Enlarged Board of Appeal of the European Patent Office (EPO) recently issued its decision in G 1/25 (“Hydroponics”) relating to the circumstances in which claim amendments necessitate adaptation of the description. In their decision, the Enlarged Board concluded that adaptation of the description is necessitated only when an inconsistency between the claims and the description results in non-compliance with the requirements of the European Patent Convention (EPC).