Key points
- " Claim 1 of the main request reads as follows: "Method for generating a design model with an improved characterization of a standard cell with adaptive body biasing in a circuit design process of said cells in digital circuits fabricated in a foundry, whereby the cell is defined by subject to variations due to the fabrication process P of said foundry, a supply voltage VDDnom and an operating temperature T, the method comprising the following steps: considering static deviations in the supply voltage VDDnom ..."
- " The board considers that, in the current case, the result of the calculations effected by the method steps of claim 1 is a design model with an "improved" characterisation that is obtained by simulation (see characterising part of claim 1, for example) of a standard cell which [design model (?)] is provided in a library file. Such a library file is, at least according to the description, used by customers in later stages of the overall design process [] but the method of claim 1 does not contain steps specifying the use of the produced library file in later design or manufacturing steps. A use of the design model in a manufacturing step would have been particularly relevant since the Enlarged Board of Appeal considered the inclusion of a manufacturing step to be an argument in favour of patentability (see point 134 of decision G 1/19)."
- " The board is aware that claim 1 ... specifies the ultimate aim of using the improved design model of a standard cell for fabricating integrated chips (digital circuits) in a foundry. However, the manufacturing of a designed digital circuit using the improved design model is neither specified as being part of the method of claim 1 nor implied by specifying the ultimate aim of the design process. Since the result of the method of claim 1 is calculated data for an improved design that is obtained using simulation, it follows from points 97, 98 and 138 of decision G 1/19 that the improved design does not contribute to inventive step since no "further" technical effect, such as controlling a machine in the foundry during a manufacturing process, is derivable."
The link to the decision is provided after the jump, as well as (an extract of) the text of the decision.
source http://justpatentlaw.blogspot.com/2023/10/t-176820-obtaining-design-model-by.html
