Patent decision

BL number

O/0950/23

Concerning rights in

GB2236573.4

Hearing Officer

Dr L Cullen

Decision date

5 October 2023

Person(s) or Company(s) involved

Danstar Ferment AG

Provisions discussed

Patents Act 1977; Section 1(1)(b)

Keywords

Inventive step

Related Decisions

None

Summary

This application relates to the brewing of sour beers using a single Saccharomyces yeast species which expresses alcohol dehydrogenase (AH) and has also been genetically engineered to additionally express lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). During the fermentation process, the production of lactic acid provides the sour component necessary for the sour taste of the beer. The hearing officer (HO), using the structured approach for assessing inventive step set out in Windsurfing International Inc. v Tabur Marine (Great Britain) Ltd, concluded that the cited prior art and the common general knowledge of the skilled worker does not lead them to use a recombinant Saccharomyces yeast which expresses LDH in the brewing of sour beers. As such, the HO found the latest set of claims, as amended, to be inventive. There being no further outstanding matters, the application was remitted to the examiner to complete the necessary steps to grant this patent.

Full decision O/0950/23 300Kb