Guidelines for Examination

Claims depending either directly or indirectly via other dependent claims on an independent claim excluded from the search in accordance with Rule 62a(1) (see B-VIII, 4.2) are likewise excluded from the search. Conversely, if a dependent claim depends on more than one previous claim, not all of which were searched, that dependent claim will be searched only in as far as it depends on a claim or claims which were searched in accordance with Rule 62a(1).