J 0003/81 (Correction of mistakes/International application) of 07.12.1981

I. If a mistake is made in designating States in a European patent application, then, in general, a request for correction of the mistake by adding the designation of another State must be refused, in the public interest, if it is not made until it is too late to add to the application as published a warning to third parties that the request has been made.

II. Where an international application filed under the PCT is deemed to be a European patent application, the same general rule must apply mutatis mutandis, even though publication of the international application by the International Bureau necessarily precedes the time at which the applicant can request the EPO to correct any mistake in the application.

III. Where the EPO has funds standing to the credit of any person, a fee for re-establishment of rights which that person has to pay can only be considered to have been paid when the EPO has been instructed to allocate the appropriate amount to the payment of that fee.