1. General 

The PCT acknowledges that in certain cases the invention may have been disclosed before the relevant date for the purposes of the PCT in such a way that it is not considered to form part of the prior art in accordance with the national law of one or more designated Offices (Rule 51bis.1(a)(v)).

Therefore, it should be borne in mind that, upon validly entering the regional phase before the EPO, the standards for non-prejudicial disclosures as laid down in Article 55(1) EPC will be applied.

Consequently, the principles as laid down in Chapter G‑V of the Guidelines for Examination in the EPO apply mutatis mutandis.