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UPC CFI 337/2025

Apr 22, 2025·EP3296274: FINING OF BOROALUMINO SILICATE GLASSES

Case details
Status
Case Closed
Action
Revocation
Category
Main Revocation Action
Parties
Claimants
Reps: Andreas Obermeier (Bird & Bird LLP)
Respondents
Reps: Marcus Grosch (Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP)
Division
Munich CD
Judges
Technology
Materials & Chemistry · Glass Compositions
Language
English
First decided
Dec 1, 2025
Last decision
Feb 24, 2026
Claims
At issue1, 2, 3
Maintained1, 2, 3
Notes: Revocation action dismissed; claims 1, 2 and 3 of EP 3 296 274 maintained as granted, all invalidity attacks unsuccessful.
Decisions
  • 2026-02-24
    Patent maintainedRevocation meritsRevocation Action

    The Central Division (Munich) dismissed TCL Europe's revocation action against Corning's EP 3 296 274 (glass composition), finding all invalidity attacks unsuccessful. The patent was maintained as granted; TCL was ordered to bear Corning's legal costs.

    Legal issues:RevocationInventive stepAdded matterNoveltyStarting point selectionGlass composition
  • 2025-12-01
    Revocation Action

    The Central Division (Section Munich) judge-rapporteur issued a Rule 105.5 interim conference order in the revocation action concerning EP 3 296 274, setting procedural timetable, case valuation, and directions for further submissions including responses to an expert opinion.

    Legal issues:Interim conference directionsCase valuation (EUR 6,250,000)Inventive stepSufficiency of disclosure
Documents
Document titleDatePublic
Receipt2026-03-19Not public
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Exhibit Applicant2026-03-19Not public
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Application document Applicant2026-03-19Not public
Application document Applicant2026-03-19Not public
Decision2026-02-24Public
action.phaseChange.caseClose2026-02-24Not public
action.issueDecision.decision2026-02-24Not public
Decision2026-02-24Not public
Other Documents2026-02-03Not public
action.communication.general2026-01-14Not public
Receipt2026-01-09Not public
Cover sheet2026-01-09Not public
Further pleadings2026-01-09Not public
action.communication.general2026-01-06Not public
Receipt2026-01-05Not public
Cover sheet2026-01-05Not public
Exhibit document Claimant2026-01-05Not public
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Further pleadings2026-01-05Not public
Receipt2025-12-19Not public
Cover sheet2025-12-19Not public
Further pleadings2025-12-19Not public
Receipt2025-12-19Not public
Cover sheet2025-12-19Not public
Receipt2025-12-19Not public
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Further pleadings2025-12-19Not public
Exhibit document Defendant2025-12-19Not public
action.phaseChange.oralPhaseOpen2025-12-05Not public
action.phaseChange.interimPhaseClose2025-12-05Not public
action.summons.oralHearing2025-12-05Not public
Summons2025-12-05Not public
Cover sheet2025-12-05Not public
Further pleadings2025-12-05Not public
Exhibit document Defendant2025-12-05Not public
Receipt2025-12-05Not public
Other Documents2025-12-02Not public
Order2025-12-02Public
action.issueOrder.order2025-12-01Not public
Order2025-12-01Not public
Cover sheet2025-11-24Not public
Other document Claimant2025-11-24Not public
Receipt2025-11-24Not public
action.phaseChange.interimPhaseOpen2025-11-18Not public
action.phaseChange.writtenPhaseClose2025-11-18Not public
action.communication.general2025-11-18Not public
Cover sheet2025-11-17Not public
Application document Defendant2025-11-17Not public
Receipt2025-11-17Not public
action.summons.interimHearing2025-11-17Not public
Summons2025-11-17Not public
Cover sheet2025-11-10Not public
Further pleadings2025-11-10Not public
Exhibit document Claimant2025-11-10Not public
Exhibit document Claimant2025-11-10Not public
Receipt2025-11-10Not public
Cover sheet2025-10-10Not public
Statement of rejoinder2025-10-10Not public
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Exhibit2025-10-10Not public
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Acknowledgement-of-lodging2025-09-10Not public
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Reply to application to amend the patent2025-09-10Not public
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Acknowledgement-of-lodging2025-09-10Not public
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Reply to Defense to Revocation2025-09-10Not public
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Headnote-and-Keywords2025-09-08Not public
Outcome of the Order2025-09-08Not public
RoP 9.3(a) order2025-09-08Public
RoP 9.3(a) order2025-09-08Not public
Comments2025-09-05Not public
RoP 9 preliminary order2025-09-04Not public
Receipt2025-09-04Not public
250904 TCL - Request for 2-week extension2025-09-04Not public
Hearing-Dates2025-08-20Not public
RoP 28 final order2025-08-20Public
2025-08-12-EP-274-Communication-TCL-v-Corning-CD-M-17987-2025_CMS_signed2025-08-12Not public
Comments on hearing dates2025-08-11Not public
RoP 28 preliminary order2025-08-05Not public
Hearing-Dates2025-08-05Not public
Acknowledgement-of-lodging2025-07-10Not public
Formal-checks_Notification-of-positive-outcome2025-07-10Not public
Formal-checks_Notification-of-positive-outcome2025-07-10Not public
Exhibit-QE-222025-07-09Not public
Exhibit-QE-092025-07-09Not public
Defense to revocation and AAP2025-07-09Not public
Exhibit-QE-10a2025-07-09Not public
Exhibit-QE-082025-07-09Not public
Exhibit-QE-232025-07-09Not public
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Exhibit-QE-11a2025-07-09Not public
Exhibit-QE-202025-07-09Not public
Exhibit-QE-14a2025-07-09Not public
Acknowledgement-of-lodging2025-07-09Not public
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Exhibit-QE-18a2025-07-09Not public
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Exhibit-QE-22a2025-07-09Not public
Exhibit-QE-10a2025-07-09Not public
Exhibit-QE-072025-07-09Not public
Exhibit-QE-08a2025-07-09Not public
Exhibit-QE-16a2025-07-09Not public
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Exhibit-QE-09a2025-07-09Not public
Exhibit-QE-17a2025-07-09Not public
Exhibit-QE-142025-07-09Not public
Defense to revocation and AAP2025-07-09Not public
Exhibit-QE-23a2025-07-09Not public
Exhibit-QE-14a2025-07-09Not public
Exhibit-QE-20a2025-07-09Not public
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Exhibit-QE-132025-07-09Not public
Outcome of the Order2025-06-13Not public
13062025 order2025-06-13Public
Outcome of the Order2025-06-13Not public
order 130620252025-06-13Public
250603 TCL Response2025-06-03Not public
preliminary order2025-05-30Not public
Receipt2025-05-30Not public
2025-05-30-EP-274-Co-re-R-9-RoP-TCL-v-Corning-CD-M-17987-2025_CMS_signed2025-05-30Not public
Exhibit-QE-02_CMS2025-05-30Not public
Exhibit-QE-01_CMS2025-05-30Not public
2025-05-30-EP-274-Req-term-extension-TCL-v-Corning-CD-M-17987-2025_CMS_signed2025-05-30Not public
preliminary order2025-05-26Not public
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250523 TCL - Rule 9 Application2025-05-23Not public
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communicationCheck2025-04-28Not public
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Notification Of Service2025-04-25Not public
Friendly Mail2025-04-25Not public
Acknowledgement of access to case2025-04-24Not public
Letter-for-Service2025-04-23Not public
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Plain-English summary

TCL Europe SAS sought revocation of Corning Incorporated's EP 3 296 274 (fining of boroalumino silicate glasses) before the Central Division Munich on grounds of added matter, lack of novelty, and lack of inventive step over multiple prior art references. The Central Division dismissed all attacks, establishing that selection of a closest prior art example involving hindsight is impermissible and that interdependent claim features must be assessed together in the objective problem, not decomposed; TCL was ordered to bear Corning's legal costs.

Accepted arguments
What the court agreed with — by party.

  • No added matter: claim 1 of EP 3 296 274 as granted does not extend beyond the application as filed

    RespondentLegal basis: Art. 123(2) EPC

    Note: The Central Division rejected TCL's added matter attack; specific reasoning not fully reproduced in excerpt but implied by dismissal of all invalidity grounds.

  • Novelty of claim 1 maintained over all cited prior art documents

    RespondentLegal basis: Art. 54 EPC

    Note: Court found none of the prior art references anticipating claim 1 of the glass composition patent.

  • Inventive step: selection of a specific example composition as closest prior art starting point involves hindsight where no pointer exists in the disclosure

    RespondentLegal basis: Art. 56 EPC; problem-solution approach

    Note: Court held that absent a specific reason or pointer in the prior art itself, selecting a particular example merely because it comes closest to the claimed subject matter risks hindsight.

  • Inventive step cannot be assessed by decomposing interdependent claim features into separate sub-problems

    RespondentLegal basis: Art. 56 EPC; problem-solution approach

    Note: Court ruled that ignoring interdependencies among claim features and dividing the objective problem into separate problems amounts to hindsight reasoning.

Rejected arguments
What the court did not agree with — and why.

  • Claim 1 lacks novelty over cited prior art range disclosures

    ClaimantLegal basis: Art. 54 EPC

    Reason: Court found the numerical ranges in the prior art did not anticipate the specific claimed composition; disclosure of overlapping ranges alone insufficient.

  • Claim 1 lacks inventive step starting from D14 (float process glass) combined with D16 (refining agents)

    ClaimantLegal basis: Art. 56 EPC

    Reason: D14 relates to float processes and its liquidus viscosity requirements differ from those needed for downdraw; D16 teaches Sb2O3 as refining agent whereas the claim purposively excludes antimony and arsenic, so D14 and D16 do not point the skilled person toward the claimed solution.

  • Inventive step challenged by reference to Chinese Supreme People's Court judgment on a related Chinese patent

    ClaimantLegal basis: Art. 56 EPC

    Reason: The Chinese judgment concerned a different patent with different claims and applied a Chinese law inventive step test that differs from the UPC approach; not relevant to the outcome.

  • Experimental report D41 relevant to patentability of auxiliary requests

    Claimant

    Reason: Because all attacks on the patent as granted failed, the condition for auxiliary requests was not fulfilled and D41's admissibility need not be decided.

Key legal principles
Doctrines and rules cited in the reasoning.
problem-solution approach to inventive stephindsight in selection of closest prior art starting pointinterdependency of claim features in objective problem formulationdisclosure of numerical ranges and noveltypurposive non-use of a component as a technical feature distinguishing over prior artreasonable expectation of successmotivation and pointer in inventive step assessment

Browse other cases on this principle.

Prior art relied on
References cited and the role they played.
  • D14Obviousness combination
  • D16Obviousness combination
  • D19Obviousness combination
  • D40 (expert opinion)Background
  • D41 (experimental report)Background
  • D42-D45 (Chinese court judgment)Background
Claim construction notes

The patent concerns a boroalumino silicate glass composition with defined ranges (including purposive exclusion of antimony and arsenic as refining agents) suitable for downdraw glass manufacturing. The Court emphasised the interdependency among features such as liquidus viscosity and the antimony/arsenic exclusion as jointly solving the objective problem, and rejected decomposition of these features into separate sub-problems.