| Introduction | p. 1 |
| Patents to Life Forms | p. 1 |
| International and Regional Legal Instruments | p. 4 |
| Eligibility | p. 5 |
| The Basic Patentability Criteria | p. 6 |
| Genetic Engineering | p. 7 |
| Incentive to Invent | p. 9 |
| Economics | p. 10 |
| Intangible Content | p. 11 |
| Drawbacks | p. 12 |
| Complex Legal Situation | p. 13 |
| Invention | p. 15 |
| Exclusions from Patentability | p. 16 |
| Proper Balance | p. 16 |
| The Complex Picture Behind the Patent Systems | p. 17 |
| Classical Methods of Assessing Patent Law | p. 18 |
| Changes in Patent Practice Affect the Protection | p. 19 |
| Trade Secret and Copyright Protection | p. 20 |
| Scope of Study | p. 21 |
| Division | p. 21 |
| Mode of Operation | p. 22 |
| Invention or Discovery | p. 23 |
| Invention | p. 24 |
| Legal Definition | p. 25 |
| Invention as Opposed to Discovery | p. 25 |
| Broadened Concept | p. 26 |
| Typology | p. 26 |
| Natural-Technological Processes | p. 27 |
| Living Organisms- Products of Nature | p. 27 |
| No New Properties | p. 28 |
| Creation By Man | p. 28 |
| Technical Means- New Organisms | p. 29 |
| Living Organisms and Their Parts Patentable | p. 30 |
| Prepared in Non-Natural Forms | p. 32 |
| CDNA's are not 'Natural Products' | p. 33 |
| Remarks | p. 34 |
| Analysis | p. 35 |
| Challenge of Traditional Concepts | p. 35 |
| A Technical Solution (I) | p. 36 |
| The Utilisaton of Natural Forces (II) | p. 38 |
| The Inventive Kernel | p. 40 |
| Existing in Nature | p. 42 |
| The Human Body and Parts of the Human Body | p. 45 |
| Not Freely Occurring in Nature | p. 47 |
| Modifications at the Molecular Level | p. 48 |
| The Necessity of Human Intervention | p. 49 |
| The Result of Human Intelligence | p. 50 |
| Patentability Problems | p. 52 |
| Patentable Subject Matter | p. 53 |
| An Exclusive Right to Exploit | p. 53 |
| Production or Business Purpose | p. 56 |
| Concluding Remarks | p. 56 |
| Disclosure | p. 59 |
| Functions of Disclosure | p. 60 |
| Disclosing Inventions | p. 62 |
| Identity of Invention | p. 63 |
| The EPC | p. 63 |
| Art. 83 EPC-Art. 84 EPC | p. 64 |
| Disclosure and Scope of Claims | p. 65 |
| Indentity of Invention | p. 68 |
| Complex Technology | p. 68 |
| Disclosed Indentity | p. 71 |
| Identity Determination | p. 72 |
| One Way to Carry out the Invention | p. 73 |
| Proper Balance | p. 75 |
| Rule of Presumption | p. 75 |
| Not a Fixed Rule | p. 77 |
| Serious Doubts | p. 77 |
| Reversal of Proof | p. 78 |
| Undue Burden of Experimentation | p. 79 |
| Identical Results | p. 80 |
| Repeatability of Examples | p. 81 |
| Breadth of Claims | p. 82 |
| Reproductability | p. 84 |
| Sufficiently Disclosed | p. 86 |
| The British Approach | p. 87 |
| Practical Use | p. 89 |
| Quid Pro Quo | p. 91 |
| Concluding Remarks | p. 92 |
| U.S. Patent Law | p. 92 |
| Utility | p. 93 |
| The EST Issue | p. 96 |
| Partial Remedy for Overly Broad Claims | p. 97 |
| Change in View | p. 98 |
| Factual Proof | p. 99 |
| The Biotechnological Field | p. 101 |
| The USPTO Guideline | p. 102 |
| Enablement | p. 105 |
| Undue Burden of Experimentation | p. 106 |
| Step-by-Step Method | p. 108 |
| Effect Achieved Later On | p. 110 |
| Technological Complexity | p. 112 |
| Potential Rejection | p. 114 |
| Broad Claims | p. 115 |
| Factual Proof of Enablement | p. 117 |
| Complex Biological Phenomena | p. 118 |
| Remarks | p. 122 |
| Strict Interpretation | p. 124 |
| Concluding Remarks on Disclosure | p. 126 |
| Early Filing | p. 127 |
| Required Use | p. 129 |
| Claim Drafting | p. 130 |
| Comparative Aspects | p. 131 |
| Scope of Claims | p. 132 |
| Scope of Protection the Main Issue | p. 135 |
| Protection | p. 137 |
| Literal Infringement-British Law | p. 139 |
| German Law | p. 141 |
| The U.S. Practice | p. 142 |
| Literal Protection | p. 145 |
| Claim Limitations | p. 147 |
| Literal Protection | p. 148 |
| Remarks | p. 150 |
| Equivalency | p. 151 |
| British Practice | p. 152 |
| Purposive Construction | p. 154 |
| Claim Construction | p. 156 |
| Threshold Test | p. 157 |
| Material Effect | p. 159 |
| After-Developed Technology | p. 159 |
| The EPC-Requirements | p. 161 |
| Claim Limitations | p. 163 |
| Harmonisation | p. 165 |
| The 'New' Approach | p. 167 |
| Application of Equivalents | p. 170 |
| German Practice | p. 171 |
| Doctrine of Equivalents | p. 172 |
| Indirect Equivalency | p. 174 |
| Obviousness | p. 175 |
| Chemical and Biochemical Patents | p. 176 |
| Disclosure as Basis | p. 178 |
| Claim Limitations | p. 179 |
| Harmonisation | p. 182 |
| The New Practice | p. 184 |
| European Harmonisation | p. 187 |
| Different Outcomes | p. 188 |
| The EC Directive | p. 188 |
| Translucent Approach | p. 190 |
| Remarks | p. 192 |
| U.S. Practice | p. 193 |
| Equivalent Changes | p. 194 |
| Biochemical Inventions | p. 196 |
| Biotechnological Inventions | p. 199 |
| Case Law | p. 202 |
| Claim Litigation | p. 205 |
| Standard of Difference | p. 206 |
| Element-by-Element | p. 207 |
| The FWR Test and Standard of Differences | p. 211 |
| Functional Claim Language | p. 213 |
| De Novo Claim Construction | p. 215 |
| Restrictions of the Doctrine | p. 217 |
| Freely Usable State of the Art | p. 219 |
| Remarks | p. 221 |
| Basis | p. 222 |
| Summarising Remarks | p. 223 |
| Different Policies | p. 225 |
| Different Practicies | p. 228 |
| Uncertainty | p. 229 |
| Decisive Aspects for Infringement | p. 231 |
| Element-By-Element Contra Invention-As-A-Whole | p. 232 |
| Point in Time | p. 234 |
| Comparative Conclusions | p. 236 |
| Exclusions from Patentability | p. 239 |
| The Purpose | p. 240 |
| International Regulations | p. 240 |
| Europe | p. 242 |
| The Concept of 'Plant Variety' | p. 245 |
| The Regulation | p. 246 |
| The Criteria | p. 248 |
| Remarks | p. 250 |
| EPC Case Law | p. 251 |
| The Interpretation | p. 254 |
| Questions Answered | p. 255 |
| Points of Interpretation Cleared | p. 257 |
| Proper Interpretation | p. 258 |
| A Substantive Approach | p. 262 |
| Remarks | p. 263 |
| Analysis | p. 264 |
| Protectable Varieties | p. 266 |
| Technical Feasibility | p. 267 |
| Patent and Plant Breeder's Right Protection | p. 268 |
| Protectable Plant Variety | p. 270 |
| Accept the PBR Definition | p. 270 |
| Relevant Criteria | p. 272 |
| Clarification by the EC Directive | p. 274 |
| Scope of Protection | p. 276 |
| Well-Balanced System | p. 277 |
| Weighting Pros and Cons | p. 278 |
| The Concept of Animal Variety | p. 280 |
| Legal Problems Specific to Animals | p. 283 |
| Unclear Concept | p. 284 |
| Proper Interpretation | p. 286 |
| Methods of Interpretation | p. 287 |
| Clarification | p. 288 |
| The Purpose of Law | p. 290 |
| Analogous Application of the DUS Criteria | p. 291 |
| Concluding Remarks | p. 292 |
| Other Ways to Protect Varieties (Excurs) US Law | p. 294 |
| U.S. Plant Protection | p. 294 |
| Patent Protection vs. Copyright Protection | p. 297 |
| A Sui Generis System | p. 299 |
| Process Plants | p. 303 |
| Technical Character | p. 304 |
| A Higher Level of Technicality | p. 305 |
| Interpretation | p. 306 |
| Analysis | p. 308 |
| Technical Standard | p. 309 |
| Effect of End Product | p. 310 |
| Microbiological Processes and Their Products | p. 311 |
| EPC Case Law | p. 311 |
| Method of Interpretation | p. 313 |
| The Concept | p. 314 |
| Objective Technological Method | p. 316 |
| Analysing Remarks | p. 317 |
| Application | p. 318 |
| Overall Analysis | p. 321 |
| Analytical Framework | p. 322 |
| Defined Right | p. 322 |
| No Satisfactory Solution | p. 323 |
| Plant Variety | p. 324 |
| Standpoint of PBR Law | p. 325 |
| Alternative Legal Understanding | p. 326 |
| The Animal Variety Concept | p. 328 |
| Shift in Perspective | p. 329 |
| Alternate Understanding | p. 329 |
| Essentially Biological Process | p. 331 |
| Comprehensive View | p. 332 |
| Microbiological Process | p. 332 |
| Intrinsic Incoherence | p. 333 |
| Historical Explanation | p. 334 |
| Point of Departure | p. 336 |
| Available Protection | p. 337 |
| Double Protection | p. 338 |
| Cross- and Compulsory Licensing (Excurs) | p. 339 |
| Other Kinds of Protection (Excurs) | p. 341 |
| Remarks | p. 341 |
| Predictable Basis | p. 343 |
| Rules of Interpretation | p. 344 |
| Different Solutions | p. 345 |
| Distinguishable Aspects | p. 346 |
| Range of Equivalents | p. 348 |
| Proper Basis | p. 349 |
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