Facts
Sandoz AG, a competitor of Imperial Chemical Industries Ltd (ICI), filed an administrative appeal against the admission by the Federal Institute of Intellectual Property of an amendment to ICI's patent without postponement of the filing date. Sandoz AG considered that this amendment substantially expanded the scope of the invention and should have resulted in a postponement of the filing date in accordance with Art. 58 para. 2 PatA. The Institute and ICI contested this position.Considerations
The Federal Tribunal upheld Sandoz AG's appeal. It considered that the replacement of the terms "dihalogenated compounds" and "trihalogenated compounds" with the broader term "polyhalogenated compounds" in ICI's patent constituted an extension of the scope of protection of the invention compared to the initial application. This extension was therefore not admissible without postponement of the filing date, in accordance with Art. 58 para. 2…