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Guidelines for Examination in the EPO

Guidelines for Examination - Table of Contents  
PART B GUIDELINES FOR SEARCH PART A PART C  
CHAPTER IV SEARCH PROCEDURE AND STRATEGY CHAPTER III CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SEARCH CHAPTER V PRECLASSIFICATION (ROUTING) AND OFFICIAL CLASSIFICATION OF EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATIONS  
1. Procedure prior to searching   2. Search strategy  
1.1 Analysis of the application   1.2 Formal deficiencies  

1.1

Analysis of the application

 

When taking up an application to be searched, the examiner should first consider the application in order to determine the subject of the claimed invention taking account of the guidance given in III, 3. For this purpose he should make a critical analysis of the claims in the light of the description and drawings. He should in particular consider the content of the claims, description and drawings sufficiently to identify the problem underlying the invention, the inventive concept leading to its solution, the features essential to the solution as found in the claims and the results and effects obtained (see, however, III, 3.5). Furthermore, where technical features which are not present in the claims are indicated in the description as essential for the solution of the stated problem, these features should be included in the search (see C-III, 4.3(ii) and T 32/82, OJ 8/1984, 354).

 


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