Facts
British American Tobacco Company Ltd, a London-based company, holds a Swiss patent for a cigarette with a diameter smaller than traditional models. Although containing less tobacco, this cigarette would allow the consumer to take as many puffs as ordinary cigarettes, as it would burn more slowly when the smoker is not taking any puffs. At the request of Fabriques de Tabac Réunies S.A., the Court of Justice of the Canton of Geneva found the patent to be null and void and ordered its cancellation. British American Tobacco Company Ltd appealed this decision to the Federal Tribunal.Considerations
The Federal Tribunal dismissed the appeal to the extent that it was admissible. It considered that the combination of the three technical elements (diameter, filling density, and free burning rate) described in the patent did not involve an inventive step. Indeed, at the priority date of the patent, the person skilled in the art already knew the elements of this combination and could, by extrapolation, determine the…