UPC CoA, 7 November 2025: Non-disclosed experimental data generally not relevant for claim interpretation
25-12-2025 Print this page
Preliminary injunction set aside (Article 25 UPCA, Article 62 UPCA).
More likely than not that the nonconductive fluid under feature 1.2 is not reproduced by the attacked embodiment. STEROS has failed to demonstrate that the attacked embodiment, namely the electropolishing medium EF 16-11 with solid particles, contains a non-conductive liquid immiscible in the conductive solution which does not significantly conduct electric current according to the above claim construction, that is with conductivity no greater than 10 micronS/cm.
Claim construction feature 1.2 (Article 69 EPC).
When considering an emulsion as the non-conductive fluid under feature 1.2, the electrical conductivity of the overall emulsion shall be assessed, not that of each ingredient of the emulsion.
Although claim 1 of the patent does not set the specific details on the configuration of the non-conductive fluid under feature 1.2, the description under the general heading [...] citly refers to non-conductive fluids based on emulsified systems as one type of non-conductive fluid [0088].
Experimental data not disclosed in the patent specification are, as a general rule, not relevant to the interpretation of the patent claims. Person skilled in the art would understand that the non-conductivity of the non-conductive fluid matters only after it has been combined with the polymeric particles and conductive solution in the percentages by mass as indicated in Table 1 to become the electrolytic medium protected as final product in patent claim 1.
