UPC: Prohibition of Hindsight in Selecting the Starting Point

The Central Division Munich addresses the objective determination of inventive step and warns against impermissible hindsight. A realistic starting point is generally a prior art disclosure in its entirety. In the absence of a specific reason or hint in the disclosure itself (or in the common general knowledge) to select a specific sample composition as a "starting point," selecting such an example solely because it is structurally "closest" to the claimed subject-matter carries the risk that this selection is already based on impermissible hindsight. If the features of a patent claim, in their interaction – even without a synergistic combination effect – contribute to the solution of the objective technical problem, it is impermissible to ignore these relationships and split the problem into several sub-problems. Such a procedure constitutes hindsight and must be avoided when assessing inventive step. (CD Munich 24. 2. 2026, CFI 337/2025)