A logic model of the European patent system

Abstract

In patent law most of the crucial legal questions such as patentability and infringement are linked to the patent claims. The European Patent Office regards patent claims as a set of independent features which are examined separately in a more or less formal way. The author has found that this approach allows for developing a simple logic model which treats patent claim features as logical statements and patent claims as compound statements wherein the individual logical statements are connected by logical connectives. The proposed logic model provides a uniform system for examining various legal questions that are dealt with separately under current case-law, moreover, it allows for examining the logical coherence between the different case-law decisions as well as detecting any hidden logical inconsistencies. The present paper offers an overview of the different legal questions linked to the patent claim and demonstrates the practical application of the proposed model.