Abstract In Meril v Edwards Lifesciences, the Court of Appeal of the Unified Patent Court (UPC) establishes its foundational approach to inventive step. Central to the framework, the objective technical problem is first determined by what the claimed invention adds over the prior art, before the question turns to whether the skilled person would, not merely could, arrive at the claimed solution. Read alongside earlier appellate guidance, such as NanoString v 10× Genomics, the decision signals the emergence of a harmonized UPC doctrine on inventive step, both in interim proceedings and a full trial on the merits. Beyond doctrinal exposition and legal analysis, the article shows how Meril v Edwards Lifesciences will likely affect future drafting, prosecution and litigation strategies, and argues that the decision has important implications for future proportionality analyses and remedies.
Aboy et al. (Fri,) studied this question.