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2026-03
One Case a Day | China: Amending Claims Based on Content in the Background Section - Invalidation Decision No. 53811 (2022)
Case Introduction
This case involves the location of the basis for amendments.
If a technical feature added to a claim exists only in the background section and is not recorded elsewhere (in the originally filed claims, the description of the invention, or the embodiments), it may constitute an amendment beyond the original scope. This case presents a positive example: if a person skilled in the art can sufficiently recognize that the feature is part of the technical solution of the patent, then the amendment complies with Article 33 of the Patent Law.
Case Information
- Application Number: 200710102376.3
- Invention Title: Warp Knitting Machine
- Invalidation Decision Number: No. 53811
- Case Number: 4W112638
- Decision Date: January 24, 2022
Key Points of the Case
The involved patent relates to a warp knitting machine. Claim 1 is as follows:
- A warp knitting machine (2), having at least two knitting element guide bars (7, 10, 14, 15), wherein at least one knitting element guide bar is fixed to a guide bar shaft (9, 12, 18) via at least one guide rod (8, 11, 16, 17), characterized in that the guide rod (8, 11, 16, 17) has a temperature regulating device, and the knitting element guide bar is made of fiber-reinforced plastic.
The background section of the specification states: A measure to prevent the negative effects of temperature differences from becoming too significant lies in the use of knitting element guide bars made of fiber-reinforced plastic. Such plastic guide bars are less sensitive to material expansion relative to temperature changes. Here, the knitting element guide bars are held on the guide bar shaft by multiple guide rods, which also extend across the entire working width. The problem in this case is that these guide bar shafts are usually made of steel and thus expand to a much greater extent under thermal influence compared to the knitting element guide bars. This leads to highly unfavorable deformations, which in turn negatively affect needle pitch accuracy. Because the plastic knitting element guide bars hardly absorb any heat, no heat is transferred from the guide rods to the guide bars and thus dissipated.
During substantive examination, the applicant added the limitation "the knitting element guide bar is made of fiber-reinforced plastic" to Claim 1, but this limitation was recorded only in the background section.
Controversial Focus
Does the above amendment comply with Article 33 of the Patent Law?
Views of the Parties
The requester argued: During the substantive examination of this patent, the patentee added the technical feature "the knitting element guide bar is made of fiber-reinforced plastic" to Claim 1. However, this feature is recorded only in the background section of the original specification of this patent and does not belong to the technical content of this patent. Therefore, the amendment does not comply with Article 33 of the Patent Law.
The collegial panel pointed out:
In this regard, the collegial panel believes: If the specification submitted on the application date clearly records information directly related to the technical solution of the invention in its background section, leading a person skilled in the art to sufficiently recognize that this information is part of the technical solution of the invention, then the basis for amending the application documents should also include the content of that background section.
Specifically, in this case, according to the records in the background section of this patent's specification, the prior art warp knitting machine uses fiber-reinforced plastic as the material for the knitting element guide bars and steel as the material for the guide bar shafts. In such a warp knitting machine, due to the different materials of the knitting element guide bars and the guide bar shafts, their thermal expansion under temperature changes also differs. The knitting element guide bars are made of non-thermosensitive material, meaning they neither easily undergo thermal expansion nor absorb heat transferred from other components. In contrast, the steel guide bar shafts and the guide rods on them expand when heated, leading to relative movement between the knitting elements, affecting needle pitch accuracy, and causing production faults (see paragraphs 0006-0008 of this patent's specification).
To solve the above technical problem, the prior art (such as the document DE102004023802B3 cited in the background section) also proposed using fiber-reinforced plastic to manufacture the guide bar shafts and guide rods to reduce their thermal expansion. However, this technical solution has high processing costs (see paragraph 0009 of this patent's specification).
Thus, this patent is an improvement specifically for warp knitting machines that use fiber-reinforced plastic as the material for the knitting element guide bars and steel as the material for the guide bar shafts. It equips the guide rods with a temperature regulating device to reduce deformation caused by temperature. Therefore, for a person skilled in the art, based on the records in this patent's specification, it is sufficiently clear that the feature "the knitting element guide bar is made of fiber-reinforced plastic" recorded in the background section is part of the technical solution of this patent. The above amendment does not exceed the scope of records in the specification, including the background section, and complies with Article 33 of the Patent Law.
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