EUROPEAN PATENT CONVENTION - Table of Contents Implementing Regulations to the Convention on the Grant of European Patents PART IV - IMPLEMENTING REGULATIONS TO PART IV OF THE CONVENTION Chapter II - European search report Rule 61 - Content of the European search report

Rule 6134 Content of the European search report

Art. 14, 54, 56, 92 R. 8, 65

(1) The European search report shall mention those documents, available to the European Patent Office at the time of drawing up the report, which may be taken into consideration in deciding whether the invention to which the European patent application relates is new and involves an inventive step.

(2) Each citation shall be referred to the claims to which it relates. Where appropriate, relevant parts of the documents cited shall be identified.

(3) The European search report shall distinguish between cited documents published before the date of priority claimed, between such date of priority and the date of filing, and on or after the date of filing.

(4) Any document which refers to an oral disclosure, a use or any other means of disclosure which took place before the date of filing of the European patent application shall be mentioned in the European search report, together with an indication of the date of publication, if any, of the document and the date of the non-written disclosure.

(5) The European search report shall be drawn up in the language of the proceedings.

(6) The European search report shall contain the classification of the subject-matter of the European patent application in accordance with the international classification.

34 See information from the EPO concerning the annex to the European search report (OJ EPO 1982, 448 ff; 1984, 381; 1999, 90).