8. Text matter on drawings 

It should first be noted that Rule 46(2)(d) and (g) Art. 1(2)(d) and Art. 1(2)(g) of the decision of the President of the EPO dated 25 November 2022 also applies to text matter on the drawings.

For indications of the type "section on AB", see A‑IX, 7.3.1.

The drawings must not contain text matter, except, when absolutely indispensable, a single word or a few words. As flow sheets and diagrams are considered as drawings (see A‑IX, 1.1), text must be kept to an the absolute minimum indispensable for understanding the drawing.

Where text matter is deemed indispensable for understanding the drawing, only the barest a minimum of words should be used, and a space free of all lines of drawings should be left around them for the translation.

Compared with other types of drawings, flow sheets comprising method steps may need more than just a bare minimum of words to be understood since the essential information may not be adequately conveyed by the graphical part of the drawing. In such cases, the requirement to keep the text to an absolute minimum may be relaxed somewhat to allow more than a few words, such as a short sentence, for each method step.

As regards the justification for text matter on drawings, see F‑II, 5.1.