tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post80463571588930573..comments2024-03-29T10:54:23.099+00:00Comments on The IPKat: Proving the existence of confidentiality agreements and the celestial teapot - T 2037/18Verónica RodrÃguez Arguijohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05763207846940036921noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-22662661727523479162019-12-12T08:57:06.705+00:002019-12-12T08:57:06.705+00:00One should not forget that if an opposition divisi...One should not forget that if an opposition division decides not to admit an opposition, it does not have to discuss any substantive matter like added matter, insufficiency, novelty or inventive step.<br /><br />In the present case the OD jumped at the gun, and it has to be agreed that the actual discussion on the value of the proof given is a matter of substance or whether the opposition is well founded and not merely of admissibility.<br /><br />That the drawings bore a stamp confidential is not surprising, but what matters is that the corresponding element was made available to the public. One can expect that after two years of service the whole system was made available to the public, and that confidentiality was not any longer present, even if it had been implicit, which remains a mere allegation of the proprietor and of the division. <br /><br />It is thus correct to say that should Bombardier wanted to claim confidentiality, then it bears the burden of proof. Bombardier did not deny the public prior use, as this would not have been plausible. <br /><br />The decision is however to be welcomed as it clarifies important issues with respect to the onus of proof. <br /><br />I do not consider that Art 12(4) NRPBA would change anything in the present situation. Siemens could not bring anything more than it had brought up to then, so that even present Art 12(4) RPBA would not apply. <br /><br />T 0426/08 is another decision in which the OD confused admissibility and being well-founded. <br />Quick but incorrect decision of the ODnoreply@blogger.com