Combination invention

A combination invention is an invention that associates means which are known in themselves, in such a way that their cooperation produces an overall technical result different from the sum of the results of each. The combination is patentable even if none of its elements is new, provided their association is new and non-obvious. The combination invention differs from the mere juxtaposition of means, in which each element continues to produce its own effect, without functional interaction.

Combination and juxtaposition

First, a combination presupposes a functional relationship between the means: each contributes to a common result or modifies the effect of the others. Second, a juxtaposition is not patentable as such, because it solves no new technical problem. Third, the characterisation depends on the technical analysis of the claims and of the description, which must show the interaction and the overall result. This distinction is constant in French case law and in the practice of the European Patent Office.

The inventive step of the combination invention

Inventive step is assessed with regard to the combination taken as a whole and not each means in isolation. The question is whether the person skilled in the art, faced with the technical problem, would have been prompted by the state of the art to associate those means in that way. The fact that each element is known does not make the combination obvious. Conversely, bringing together known means to obtain the predictable sum of their effects is not enough. The applicable provisions appear in Articles L. 611-10 et seq. of the French Intellectual Property Code, available on Légifrance.

Infringement of the combination invention

Infringement of a combination invention requires the reproduction of all the combined means, or of their equivalents. Taking only one or several elements, without the combination, does not constitute infringement, because the isolated elements belong to the public domain. In practice, the holder must therefore take care also to claim, where patentable, the sub-assemblies that have value of their own. The firm analyses these questions for claimants and defendants alike, as presented on the page patent litigation.