Non-reproducible prior art post-G 1/23: Novelty versus inventive step (T 1044/23)

The Board of Appeal decision in T 1044/23 provides us with a first look at how the principles of G 1/23 will be applied to black-box prior art. The decision confirms that whilst novelty attacks based on prior use and sale of a non-reproducible product are possible, the path to an inventive step attack based on such disclosures may still be challenging in the face of the practical realities of