The much-awaited-for decision of the Enlarged Board of Appeal of the EPO in the referral case G 1/24 is now out.

The Enlarged Board held that the description and any drawings must always be consulted when interpreting the claims, and not just in the case of unclarity or ambiguity. Hence, the Enlarged Board rejected case law of the Boards that, in cases where the claim is found to be clear and unambiguous, there would be no need to refer to the description and drawings when interpreting a claim. 

Please click here for the press release.

The decision can be found here.