Sub Navigation
| Cross-reference list | |
| EPC 2000 | EPC 1973 |
| R. 1 | - |
| R. 2 | |
| R. 3 | R. 1 |
| R. 4 | R. 2 |
| R. 5 | R. 5 |
| R. 6 | R. 6 |
| R. 7 | R. 7 |
| R. 8 | R. 8 |
| R. 9 | R. 12 |
| R. 10 | Art. 16; Art. 18(1) |
| R. 11 | R. 9 |
| R. 12 | R. 10 |
| R. 13 | R. 11 |
| R. 14 | R. 13(1), (2), (3), (5) |
| R. 15 | R. 14 |
| R. 16 | Art. 61(1) |
| R. 17 | R. 15(1), (2) |
| R. 18 | R. 16(1), (2) |
| R. 19 | R. 17 |
| R. 20 | R. 18 |
| R. 21 | R. 19 |
| R. 22 | R. 20 |
| R. 23 | R. 21 |
| R. 24 | R. 22 |
| R. 25 | R. 23 |
| R. 26 | R. 23b |
| R. 27 | R. 23c |
| R. 28 | R. 23d |
| R. 29 | R. 23e |
| R. 30 | R. 27a(1), (4) |
| R. 31 | R. 28(1), (2) |
| R. 32 | R. 28(4), (5) |
| R. 33 | R. 28(3), (6), (7), (8), (9) |
| R. 34 | R. 28a |
| R. 35 | R. 24 |
| R. 36 | R. 4; R. 25 |
| R. 37 | Art. 77 |
| R. 38 | Art. 78(2) |
| R. 39 | Art. 79(2), (3) |
| R. 40 | Art. 80 |
| R. 41 | R. 26 |
| R. 42 | R. 27 |
| R. 43 | R. 29 |
| R. 44 | R. 30 |
| R. 45 | R. 31 |
| R. 46 | R. 32 |
| R. 47 | R. 33 |
| R. 48 | R. 34 |
| R. 49 | R. 35 |
| R. 50 | R. 36 |
| R. 51 | R. 37 |
| R. 52 | R. 38(1), (2) + (6) |
| R. 53 | R. 38(3), (4) + (5) |
| R. 54 | R. 38a |
| R. 55 | R. 39 |
| R. 56 | R. 43 |
| R. 57 | Art. 91(1); R. 40, 41 |
| R. 58 | Art. 91(1); R. 40, 41 |
| R. 60 | R. 42 |
| R. 61 | R. 44 |
| R. 62 | R. 44a |
| R. 63 | R. 45 |
| R. 64 | R. 46 |
| R. 65 | Art. 92(2) |
| R. 66 | R. 47 |
| R. 67 | R. 48 |
| R. 68 | Art. 93(2); R. 49 |
| R. 69 | R. 50 |
| R. 70 | Art. 94(2), (3); Art. 96(1); R. 51(1) |
| R. 71 | R. 51(2) - (11) |
| R. 72 | R. 52 |
| R. 73 | R. 53 |
| R. 74 | R. 54 |
| R. 75 | Art. 99(3) |
| R. 76 | R. 55 |
| R. 77 | R. 56 |
| R. 78 | R. 13(4); R. 16(3) |
| R. 79 | R. 57 |
| R. 80 | R. 57a |
| R. 81 | R. 58(1), (2), (3) |
| R. 82 | R. 58(4), (5), (6), (7), (8) |
| R. 83 | R. 59 |
| R. 84 | R. 60 |
| R. 85 | R. 61 |
| R. 86 | R. 61a |
| R. 87 | R. 62, R. 62a |
| R. 88 | R. 63 |
| R. 89 | Art. 105 |
| R. 90 | - |
| R. 91 | - |
| R. 92 | - |
| R. 93 | - |
| R. 94 | - |
| R. 95 | - |
| R. 96 | - |
| R. 97 | Art. 106(4), (5) |
| R. 98 | Art. 106(2) |
| R. 99 | R. 64 |
| R. 100 | Art. 110(2), (3); R. 66(1) |
| R. 101 | R. 65 |
| R. 102 | R. 66(2) |
| R. 103 | R. 67 |
| R. 104 | - |
| R. 105 | - |
| R. 106 | - |
| R. 107 | - |
| R. 108 | - |
| R. 109 | - |
| R. 110 | - |
| R. 111 | R. 68 |
| R. 112 | R. 69 |
| R. 113 | R. 70 |
| R. 114 | Art. 115 |
| R. 115 | R. 71 |
| R. 116 | R. 71a |
| R. 117 | R. 72(1) |
| R. 118 | R. 72(2) |
| R. 119 | Art. 117(2); R. 72(3), (4) |
| R. 120 | Art. 117(4), (5), (6) |
| R. 121 | R. 73 |
| R. 122 | R. 74 |
| R. 123 | R. 75 |
| R. 124 | R. 76 |
| R. 125 | R. 77; R. 82 |
| R. 126 | R. 78 |
| R. 127 | - |
| R. 128 | R. 79 |
| R. 129 | R. 80 |
| R. 130 | R. 81 |
| R. 131 | R. 83 |
| R. 132 | R. 84 |
| R. 133 | R. 84a |
| R. 134 | R. 85 |
| R. 135 | Art. 121(2), (3) |
| R. 136 | Art. 122(2), (3), (4), (5) |
| R. 137 | R. 86 |
| R. 138 | R. 87 |
| R. 139 | R. 88 |
| R. 140 | R. 89 |
| R. 141 | Art. 124(1) |
| R. 142 | R. 90 |
| R. 143 | R. 92 |
| R. 144 | R. 93 |
| R. 145 | R. 94 |
| R. 146 | R. 95 |
| R. 147 | R. 95a |
| R. 148 | R. 97 |
| R. 149 | R. 98 |
| R. 150 | R. 99 |
| R. 151 | R. 100 |
| R. 152 | R. 101 |
| R. 153 | - |
| R. 154 | R. 102 |
| R. 155 | Art. 135(2); Art. 136(1), (2) |
| R. 156 | R. 103 |
| R. 157 | Art. 151(1); Art. 152; R. 104 |
| R. 158 | R. 105 |
| R. 159 | Art. 153(2); R. 107 |
| R. 160 | R. 108 |
| R. 161 | R. 109 |
| R. 162 | R. 110 |
| R. 163 | R. 111 |
| R. 164 | R. 112 |
| R. 165 | - |
Main Content
European Patent Convention (EPC)
|
Implementing Regulations
to the Convention on the Grant of European Patents
of 5 October 1973
as adopted by decision of the Administrative Council of the European Patent Organisation of 7 December 2006
Table of contents
PART I
IMPLEMENTING REGULATIONS TO PART I OF THE CONVENTION
Chapter I
General provisions
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Written proceedings |
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Filing of and formal requirements for documents |
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Language in written proceedings |
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Language in oral proceedings |
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Certification of translations |
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Filing of translations and reduction of fees |
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Legal authenticity of the translation of the European patent application |
Chapter II
Organisation of the European Patent Office
Section 1
General matters
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Patent classification |
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Administrative structure of the European Patent Office |
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Responsibility of the Receiving Section and the Examining Division |
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Allocation of duties to the departments of first instance |
Section 2
Organisation of the Boards of Appeal and the Enlarged Board of Appeal
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Presidium of the Boards of Appeal |
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Business distribution scheme for the Enlarged Board of Appeal and adoption of its Rules of Procedure |
PART II
IMPLEMENTING REGULATIONS TO PART II OF THE CONVENTION
Chapter I
Procedure where the applicant is not entitled
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Stay of proceedings |
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Limitation on withdrawals |
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Procedure under Article 61, paragraph 1 |
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Filing of a new European patent application by the entitled person |
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Partial transfer of the right to the European patent |
Chapter II
Mention of the inventor
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Designation of the inventor |
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Publication of the mention of the inventor |
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Rectification of the designation of an inventor |
Chapter III
Registration of transfers, licences and other rights
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Registration of transfers |
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Registration of licences and other rights |
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Special entries for licence registrations |
Chapter IV
Certificate of exhibition
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Certificate of exhibition |
Chapter V
Biotechnological inventions
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General and definitions |
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Patentable biotechnological inventions |
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Exceptions to patentability |
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The human body and its elements |
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Requirements of European patent applications relating to nucleotide and amino acid sequences |
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Deposit of biological material |
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Expert solution |
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Availability of biological material |
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New deposit of biological material |
PART III
IMPLEMENTING REGULATIONS TO PART III OF THE CONVENTION
Chapter I
Filing of the European patent application
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General provisions |
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European divisional applications |
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Forwarding of European patent applications |
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Filing fee and search fee |
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Designation fees |
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Date of filing |
Chapter II
Provisions governing the application
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Request for grant |
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Content of the description |
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Form and content of claims |
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Unity of invention |
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Claims incurring fees |
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Form of the drawings |
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Form and content of the abstract |
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Prohibited matter |
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General provisions governing the presentation of the application documents |
|
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Documents filed subsequently |
Chapter III
Renewal fees
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Payment of renewal fees |
Chapter IV
Priority
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Declaration of priority |
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Priority documents |
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Issuing priority documents |
PART IV
IMPLEMENTING REGULATIONS TO PART IV OF THE CONVENTION
Chapter I
Examination by the Receiving Section
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Examination on filing |
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Missing parts of the description or missing drawings |
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Examination as to formal requirements |
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Correction of deficiencies in the application documents |
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Deficiencies in claiming priority |
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Subsequent designation of the inventor |
Chapter II
European search report
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Content of the European search report |
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Extended European search report |
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Incomplete search |
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European search report where the invention lacks unity |
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Transmittal of the European search report |
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Definitive content of the abstract |
Chapter III
Publication of the European patent application
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Technical preparations for publication |
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Form of the publication of European patent applications and European search reports |
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Information about publication |
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Request for examination |
Chapter IV
Examination by the Examining Division
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Examination procedure |
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Grant of the European patent to different applicants |
Chapter V
The European patent specification
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Content and form of the specification |
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Certificate for a European patent |
PART V
IMPLEMENTING REGULATIONS TO PART V OF THE CONVENTION
Chapter I
Opposition procedure
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Surrender or lapse of the patent |
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Form and content of the opposition |
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Rejection of the opposition as inadmissible |
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Procedure where the proprietor of the patent is not entitled |
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Preparation of the examination of the opposition |
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Amendment of the European patent |
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Examination of opposition |
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Maintenance of the European patent in amended form |
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Request for documents |
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Continuation of the opposition proceedings by the European Patent Office of its own motion |
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Transfer of the European patent |
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Documents in opposition proceedings |
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Content and form of the new specification of the European patent |
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Costs |
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Intervention of the assumed infringer |
Chapter II
Procedure for limitation or revocation
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Subject of proceedings |
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Responsibility for proceedings |
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Requirements of the request |
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Precedence of opposition proceedings |
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Rejection of the request as inadmissible |
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Decision on the request |
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Content and form of the amended European patent specification |
PART VI
IMPLEMENTING REGULATIONS TO PART VI OF THE CONVENTION
Chapter I
Appeals procedure
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Appeal against apportionment and fixing of costs |
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Surrender or lapse of the patent |
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Content of the notice of appeal and the statement of grounds |
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Examination of appeals |
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Rejection of the appeal as inadmissible |
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Form of decision of the Board of Appeal |
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Reimbursement of appeal fees |
Chapter II
Petitions for review by the Enlarged Board of Appeal
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Further fundamental procedural defects |
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Criminal acts |
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Obligation to raise objections |
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Contents of the petition for review |
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Examination of the petition |
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Procedure in dealing with petitions for review |
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Reimbursement of the fee for petitions for review |
PART VII
IMPLEMENTING REGULATIONS TO PART VII OF THE CONVENTION
Chapter I
Decisions and communications of the European Patent Office
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Form of decisions |
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Noting of loss of rights |
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Signature, name, seal |
Chapter II
Observations by third parties
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Observations by third parties |
Chapter III
Oral proceedings and taking of evidence
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Summons to oral proceedings |
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Preparation of oral proceedings |
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Decision on taking of evidence |
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Summons to give evidence before the European Patent Office |
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Examination of evidence before the European Patent Office |
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Hearing by a competent national court |
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Commissioning of experts |
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Costs of taking of evidence |
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Conservation of evidence |
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Minutes of oral proceedings and of taking of evidence |
Chapter IV
Notifications
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General provisions |
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Notification by post |
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Notification by technical means of communication |
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Notification by delivery by hand |
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Public notification |
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Notification to representatives |
Chapter V
Time limits
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Calculation of periods |
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Periods specified by the European Patent Office |
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Late receipt of documents |
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Extension of periods |
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Further processing |
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Re-establishment of rights |
Chapter VI
Amendments and corrections
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Amendment of the European patent application |
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Different claims, description and drawings for different States |
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Correction of errors in documents filed with the European Patent Office |
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Correction of errors in decisions |
Chapter VII
Information on prior art
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Information on prior art |
Chapter VIII
Interruption of proceedings
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Interruption of proceedings |
Chapter IX
Information to the public
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Entries in the European Patent Register |
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Parts of the file excluded from inspection |
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Procedures for the inspection of files |
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Communication of information contained in the files |
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Constitution, maintenance and preservation of files |
Chapter X
Legal and administrative co-operation
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Communications between the European Patent Office and the authorities of the Contracting States |
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Inspection of files by or via courts or authorities of the Contracting States |
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Procedure for letters rogatory |
Chapter XI
Representation
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Appointment of a common representative |
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Authorisations |
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Attorney evidentiary privilege |
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Amendment of the list of professional representatives |
PART VIII
IMPLEMENTING REGULATIONS TO PART VIII OF THE CONVENTION
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Filing and transmission of the request for conversion |
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Information to the public in the event of conversion |
PART IX
IMPLEMENTING REGULATIONS TO PART X OF THE CONVENTION
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The European Patent Office as a receiving Office |
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The European Patent Office as an International Searching Authority or International Preliminary Examining Authority |
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The European Patent Office as a designated or elected Office - Requirements for entry into the European phase |
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Consequences of non-fulfilment of certain requirements |
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Amendment of the application |
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Claims incurring fees |
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Examination of certain formal requirements by the European Patent Office |
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Consideration of unity by the European Patent Office |
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The Euro-PCT application as conflicting application under Article 54, paragraph 3 |
