2.4.12.1.1 Construction - Implicit Degree of Purity

Date Published

Where a claim is directed to a compound without an explicit degree of purity, the degree of purity is implied by considering the context of the specification. If the whole context of the specification, and the nature of the problem with the prior art, is directed to the degree of purity, then that is implicitly a feature of the claim. If there is no such context in the specification, then the degree of purity is not a feature of the claim.

See Biochem Pharma v Emory University [1999] APO 50.