Skip to main content Skip to footer
HomeHome
 
  • Homepage
  • Searching for patents

    Patent knowledge

    Access our patent databases and search tools.

    Go to overview 

    • Overview
    • Technical information
      • Overview
      • Espacenet - patent search
      • European Publication Server
      • Searching Asian documents: patent search and monitoring services
      • EP full-text search
      • Bibliographic coverage in Espacenet and OPS
      • Full-text coverage in Espacenet and OPS
    • Legal information
      • Overview
      • European Patent Register
      • European Patent Bulletin
      • European Case Law Identifier sitemap
      • Searching Asian documents
      • Third-party observations
    • Business information
      • Overview
      • PATSTAT
      • IPscore
      • Patent insight reports
    • Data
      • Overview
      • Linked open EP data
      • Bulk data sets
      • Web services
      • Coverage, codes and statistics
    • Helpful resources
      • Overview
      • First time here?
      • Asian patent information
      • Patent information centres
      • Patent Translate
      • Patent Knowledge News
      • Business and statistics
      • Unitary Patent information in patent knowledge

    UP search

    Learn about the Unitary Patent in patent knowledge products and services

  • Applying for a patent

    Applying for a patent

    Practical information on filing and grant procedures.

    Go to overview 

    • Overview
    • European route
      • Overview
      • European Patent Guide
      • Oppositions
      • Oral proceedings
      • Appeals
      • Unitary Patent & Unified Patent Court
      • National validation
      • Request for extension/validation
    • International route (PCT)
      • Overview
      • Euro-PCT Guide – PCT procedure at the EPO
      • EPO decisions and notices
      • PCT provisions and resources
      • Extension/validation request
      • Reinforced partnership programme
      • Accelerating your PCT application
      • Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH)
      • Training and events
    • National route
    • MyEPO services
      • Overview
      • Understand our services
      • Get access
      • File with us
      • Interact on your files
      • Online Filing & fee payment outages
      • Tutorials
    • Find a professional representative
    • Forms
      • Overview
      • Request for examination
    • Fees
      • Overview
      • European fees (EPC)
      • International fees (PCT)
      • Unitary Patent fees (UP)
      • Fee payment and refunds
      • Warning

    UP

    Unitary Patent

  • Law & practice

    Law & practice

    European patent law, the Official Journal and other legal texts.

    Go to overview 

    • Overview
    • Legal texts
      • Overview
      • European Patent Convention
      • Official Journal
      • Guidelines
      • Extension / validation system
      • London Agreement
      • National law relating to the EPC
      • Unitary patent system
      • National law relating to the UP
    • Court practices
      • Overview
      • European Patent Judges' Symposium
    • User consultations
      • Overview
      • Ongoing consultations
      • Completed consultations
    • Substantive patent law harmonisation
      • Overview
      • The Tegernsee process
      • Group B+
    • Convergence of practice
    • Options for professional representatives

    legal text

    Legal texts

  • News & events

    News & events

    Our latest news, podcasts and events, including the European Inventor Award.

    Go to overview 

     

    • Overview
    • News
    • Events
    • European Inventor Award
      • Overview
      • About the award
      • Categories and prizes
      • Meet the finalists
      • Nominations
      • Watch the 2022 ceremony
    • Press centre
      • Overview
      • Patent Index and statistics
      • Search in press centre
      • Background information
      • Copyright
      • Press contacts
      • Call back form
      • Email alert service
    • Innovation and patenting in focus
      • Overview
      • Firefighting technologies
      • Green tech in focus
      • CodeFest on Green Plastics
      • Clean energy technologies
      • IP and youth
      • Research institutes
      • Women inventors
      • Fighting coronavirus
      • Lifestyle
      • Space and satellites
      • The future of medicine
      • Materials science
      • Mobile communications
      • Biotechnology
      • Patent classification
      • Digital technologies
      • The future of manufacturing
      • Books by EPO experts
    • "Talk innovation" podcast

    Podcast

    Listen to our podcast

  • Learning

    Learning

    The e-Academy – the point of access to your learning

    Go to overview 

    • Overview
    • European Patent Academy
      • Overview
      • Learning activities
      • Learning paths
    • Professional hub
      • Overview
      • EQE - European qualifying examination
      • EPAC - European patent administration certification
    • Learning resources by area of interest
      • Overview
      • Patent granting
      • Technology transfer and dissemination
      • Patent enforcement and litigation
    • Learning resources by area by profile
      • Overview
      • Business and IP managers
      • EQE candidates
      • Judges, lawyers and prosecutors
      • National offices and IP authorities
      • Patent attorneys and paralegals
      • Universities, research centres and technology transfer centres (TTOs)

    European Patent Academy

    Boost your IP knowledge with (e-)training from the European Patent Academy

  • About us

    About us

    Find out more about our work, values, history and vision

    Go to overview 

    • Overview
    • The EPO at a glance
    • 50 years of the EPC
      • Overview
      • Official celebrations
      • Member states’ video statements
      • 50 Leading Tech Voices
      • Athens Marathon
      • Kids’ collaborative art competition
    • Legal foundations and member states
      • Overview
      • Legal foundations
      • Member states of the European Patent Organisation
      • Extension states
      • Validation states
    • Governance
      • Overview
      • Communiqués
      • Calendar
      • Documents and publications
      • Administrative Council
    • Principles & strategy
      • Overview
      • Our mission, vision, values and corporate policy
      • Public consultation on the EPO's Strategic Plan 2028
      • Towards a New Normal
    • Leadership & management
      • Overview
      • President António Campinos
      • Management Advisory Committee
    • Social responsibility
      • Overview
      • Environment and sustainability
      • Art collection
    • Services & activities
      • Overview
      • Our services & structure
      • Quality
      • Consulting our users
      • European and international co-operation
      • European Patent Academy
      • Chief Economist
      • Ombuds Office
      • Reporting wrongdoing
    • Observatory on Patents and Technology
      • Overview
      • About the Observatory
      • Our activities
      • Our topics
      • Our partners and networks
      • Digital library
      • Data desk
    • Procurement
      • Overview
      • Procurement forecast
      • Doing business with the EPO
      • Procurement procedures
      • About eTendering and electronic signatures
      • Procurement portal
      • Invoicing
      • General conditions
      • Archived tenders
    • Transparency portal
      • Overview
      • General
      • Human
      • Environmental
      • Organisational
      • Social and relational
      • Economic
      • Governance
    • Statistics and trends
      • Overview
      • Statistics & Trends Centre
      • EPO Data Hub
      • Clarification on data sources
    • History
      • Overview
      • 1970s
      • 1980s
      • 1990s
      • 2000s
      • 2010s
      • 2020s

    about us

    Patent Index 2022

 
en de fr
  • Language selection
  • English
  • Deutsch
  • Français
Main navigation
  • Homepage
  • New to patents
    • Go back
    • Overview
    • What's your big idea?
    • Are you ready?
    • What to expect
    • How to apply for a patent
    • Your business and patents
    • Is it patentable?
    • Are you first?
    • Why do we have patents?
    • Patent quiz
    • Unitary patent video
  • Searching for patents
    • Go back
    • Overview
    • Technical information
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Espacenet - patent search
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • National patent office databases
        • Global Patent Index (GPI)
        • Release notes
      • European Publication Server
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Cross-reference index for Euro-PCT applications
        • EP authority file
        • Help
      • Searching Asian documents
      • EP full-text search
      • Bibliographic coverage in Espacenet and OPS
      • Full-text coverage in Espacenet
    • Legal information
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • European Patent Register
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Release notes archive
        • Register documentation
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Deep link data coverage
          • Federated Register
          • Register events
      • European Patent Bulletin
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Download Bulletin
        • EP Bulletin search
        • Help
      • European Case Law Identifier sitemap
      • Searching Asian documents
      • Third-party observations
    • Business information
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • PATSTAT
      • IPscore
        • Go back
        • Release notes
      • Patent insight reports
    • Data
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Linked open EP data
      • Bulk data sets
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Manuals
        • Sequence listings
        • National full-text data
        • European Patent Register data
        • EPO worldwide bibliographic data (DOCDB)
        • EP full-text data
        • EPO worldwide legal event data (INPADOC)
        • EP bibliographic data (EBD)
          • Go back
          • EBD files (weekly download) - free of charge
            • Go back
            • Secure EBD ST.36 files (weekly download) - for national patent offices only
        • Boards of Appeal decisions
        • EP full-text data for text analytics
      • Web services
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Open Patent Services (OPS)
        • European Publication Server web service
      • Coverage, codes and statistics
        • Go back
        • Weekly updates
        • Updated regularly
    • Helpful resources
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • First time here? Patent information explained.
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Basic definitions
        • Patent classification
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC)
        • Patent families
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • DOCDB simple patent family
          • INPADOC extended patent family
        • Legal event data
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • INPADOC classification scheme
      • Asian patent information
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • China (CN)
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Facts and figures
          • Grant procedure
          • Numbering system
          • Useful terms
          • Searching in databases
        • Chinese Taipei (TW)
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Grant procedure
          • Numbering system
          • Useful terms
          • Searching in databases
        • India (IN)
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Facts and figures
          • Grant procedure
          • Numbering system
        • Japan (JP)
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Facts and figures
          • Grant procedure
          • Numbering system
          • Useful terms
          • Searching in databases
        • Korea (KR)
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Facts and figures
          • Grant procedure
          • Numbering system
          • Useful terms
          • Searching in databases
        • Russian Federation (RU)
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Facts and figures
          • Numbering system
          • Searching in databases
        • Useful links
      • Patent information centres (PATLIB)
      • Patent Translate
      • Patent Knowledge News
      • Business and statistics
      • Unitary Patent information in patent knowledge
  • Applying for a patent
    • Go back
    • Overview
    • European route
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • European Patent Guide
      • Oppositions
      • Oral proceedings
        • Go back
        • Oral proceedings calendar
          • Go back
          • Calendar
          • Public access to appeal proceedings
          • Public access to opposition proceedings
          • Technical guidelines
      • Appeals
      • Unitary Patent & Unified Patent Court
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Unitary Patent
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Legal framework
          • Unitary Patent Guide
          • Main features
          • Applying for a Unitary Patent
          • Cost of a Unitary Patent
          • Translation and compensation
          • Start date
        • Unified Patent Court
      • National validation
      • Extension/validation request
    • International route
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Euro-PCT Guide
      • Entry into the European phase
      • Decisions and notices
      • PCT provisions and resources
      • Extension/validation request
      • Reinforced partnership programme
      • Accelerating your PCT application
      • Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH)
        • Go back
        • Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) programme outline
      • Training and events
    • National route
    • MyEPO services
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Understand our services
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Online Filing 2.0 pilot
        • MyEPO Portfolio - pilot phase
        • Online Filing 2.0 pilot continuation
        • Exchange data with us using an API
      • Get access
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Installation and activation
      • File with us
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • What if our online filing services are down?
        • Release notes
      • Interact on your files
      • Online Filing & fee payment outages
    • Fees
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • European fees (EPC)
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Decisions and notices
      • International fees (PCT)
        • Go back
        • Reduction in fees
        • Fees for international applications
        • Decisions and notices
        • Overview
      • Unitary Patent fees (UP)
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Decisions and notices
      • Fee payment and refunds
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Payment methods
        • Getting started
        • FAQs and other documentation
        • Technical information for batch payments
        • Decisions and notices
        • Release notes
      • Warning
    • Forms
      • Go back
      • Request for examination
    • Find a professional representative
  • Law & practice
    • Go back
    • Overview
    • Legal texts
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • European Patent Convention
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Archive
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Documentation on the EPC revision 2000
            • Go back
            • Overview
            • Diplomatic Conference for the revision of the EPC
            • Travaux préparatoires
            • New text
            • Transitional provisions
            • Implementing regulations to the EPC 2000
            • Rules relating to Fees
            • Ratifications and accessions
          • Travaux Préparatoires EPC 1973
      • Official Journal
      • Guidelines
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • EPC Guidelines
        • PCT-EPO Guidelines
        • Guidelines revision cycle
        • Consultation results
        • Summary of user responses
        • Archive
      • Extension / validation system
      • London Agreement
      • National law relating to the EPC
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Archive
      • Unitary Patent system
      • National measures relating to the Unitary Patent 
    • Court practices
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • European Patent Judges' Symposium
    • User consultations
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Ongoing consultations
      • Completed consultations
    • Substantive patent law harmonisation
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • The Tegernsee process
      • Group B+
    • Convergence of practice
    • Options for professional representatives
  • News & events
    • Go back
    • Overview
    • News
    • Events
    • European Inventor Award
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • About the award
      • Categories and prizes
      • Meet the finalists
      • Nominations
      • Watch the 2023 ceremony
      • European Inventor Network
        • Go back
        • Activities granted in 2023
    • Press centre
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Patent Index and statistics
      • Search in press centre
      • Background information
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • European Patent Office
        • Q&A on patents related to coronavirus
        • Q&A on plant patents
      • Copyright
      • Press contacts
      • Call back form
      • Email alert service
    • In focus
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Firefighting technologies
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Detection and prevention of fires
        • Fire extinguishing
        • Protective equipment
        • Post-fire restoration
      • Green tech in focus
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • About green tech
        • Renewable energies
        • Energy transition technologies
        • Building a greener future
      • CodeFest on Green Plastics
      • Clean energy technologies
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Renewable energy
        • Carbon-intensive industries
        • Energy storage and other enabling technologies
      • IP and youth
      • Research institutes
      • Women inventors
      • Fighting coronavirus
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Vaccines and therapeutics
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Vaccines
          • Overview of candidate therapies for COVID-19
          • Candidate antiviral and symptomatic therapeutics
          • Nucleic acids and antibodies to fight coronavirus
        • Diagnostics and analytics
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Protein and nucleic acid assays
          • Analytical protocols
        • Informatics
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Bioinformatics
          • Healthcare informatics
        • Technologies for the new normal
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Devices, materials and equipment
          • Procedures, actions and activities
          • Digital technologies
        • Inventors against coronavirus
      • Lifestyle
      • Space and satellites
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Patents and space technologies
      • Healthcare
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Medical technologies and cancer
        • Personalised medicine
      • Materials science
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Nanotechnology
      • Mobile communications
      • Biotechnology
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Red, white or green
        • The role of the EPO
        • What is patentable?
        • Biotech inventors
      • Classification
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Nanotechnology
        • Climate change mitigation technologies
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • External partners
          • Updates on Y02 and Y04S
      • Digital technologies
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • About ICT
        • Hardware and software
        • Patents and standards
        • Artificial intelligence
        • Fourth Industrial Revolution
      • Additive manufacturing
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • About AM
        • AM innovation
      • Books by EPO experts
    • Podcast
  • Learning
    • Go back
    • Overview
    • European Patent Academy
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Learning activities
      • Learning Paths
    • Professional hub
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • EPAC - European patent administration certification
      • EQE - European Qualifying Examination
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Archive
        • Candidates successful in the European qualifying examination
        • Compendium
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Pre-examination
          • Paper A
          • Paper B
          • Paper C
          • Paper D
    • Learning resources by area of interest
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Patent granting
      • Technology transfer and dissemination
      • Patent enforcement and litigation
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Patent enforcement in Europe
        • Patent litigation in Europe
    • Learning resources by profile
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Business and IP managers
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Innovation case studies
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • SME case studies
          • Technology transfer case studies
          • High-growth technology case studies
        • Inventors' handbook
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Introduction
          • Disclosure and confidentiality
          • Novelty and prior art
            • Go back
            • Overview
            • Is the idea ‘obvious’?
            • Prior art searching
            • Professional patent searching
            • Simple Espacenet searching
            • What is prior art?
            • Why is novelty important?
          • Competition and market potential
            • Go back
            • Overview
            • Research guidelines
          • Assessing the risk ahead
            • Go back
            • Overview
            • Exploitation routes
            • Significant commercial potential
            • Significant novelty
            • What about you?
            • What if your idea is not novel but does have commercial potential?
          • Proving the invention
            • Go back
            • Overview
            • Help with design or redesign
            • Prototype strategy
          • Protecting your idea
            • Go back
            • Overview
            • Forms of IPR
            • Patenting strategy
            • The patenting process
          • Building a team and seeking funding
            • Go back
            • Overview
            • Building a team
            • Sources of funding
            • Sources of help for invention
          • Business planning
            • Go back
            • Overview
            • Constructing a business plan
            • Keep it short!
          • Finding and approaching companies
            • Go back
            • Overview
            • First contact
            • Meetings
          • Dealing with companies
            • Go back
            • Overview
            • Advance or guaranteed payment
            • Companies and your prototype
            • Full agreement – and beyond
            • Negotiating a licensing agreement
            • Reaching agreement
            • Royalties
        • Best of search matters
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Tools and databases
          • EPO procedures and initiatives
          • Search strategies
          • Challenges and specific topics
        • Support for high-growth technology businesses
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • For IP professionals
          • For business decision-makers
          • For stakeholders of the innovation ecosystem
      • EQE Candidates
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Coffee-break questions
        • Daily D questions
        • European qualifying examination - Guide for preparation
      • Judges, lawyers and prosecutors
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Compulsory licensing in Europe
        • The jurisdiction of European courts in patent disputes
      • National offices and IP authorities
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Learning material for examiners of national officers
        • Learning material for formalities officers and paralegals
      • Patent attorneys and paralegals
      • Universities, research centres and TTOs
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Modular IP Education Framework (MIPEF)
        • Pan-European Seal Young Professionals Programme
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • For students
          • For universities
            • Go back
            • Overview
            • IP education resources
            • University memberships
          • Our young professionals
          • Professional development plan
        • Academic Research Programme
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Completed research projects
          • Current research projects
        • IP Teaching Kit
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Download modules
        • Intellectual property course design manual
  • About us
    • Go back
    • Overview
    • The EPO at a glance
    • 50 years of the EPC
      • Go back
      • Official celebrations
      • Overview
      • Member states’ video statements
        • Go back
        • Albania
        • Austria
        • Belgium
        • Bulgaria
        • Croatia
        • Cyprus
        • Czech Republic
        • Denmark
        • Estonia
        • Finland
        • France
        • Germany
        • Greece
        • Hungary
        • Iceland
        • Ireland
        • Italy
        • Latvia
        • Liechtenstein
        • Lithuania
        • Luxembourg
        • Malta
        • Monaco
        • Montenegro
        • Netherlands
        • North Macedonia
        • Norway
        • Poland
        • Portugal
        • Romania
        • San Marino
        • Serbia
        • Slovakia
        • Slovenia
        • Spain
        • Sweden
        • Switzerland
        • Türkiye
        • United Kingdom
      • 50 Leading Tech Voices
      • Athens Marathon
      • Kids’ collaborative art competition
    • Legal foundations and member states
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Legal foundations
      • Member states
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Member states by date of accession
      • Extension states
      • Validation states
    • Governance
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Communiqués
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • 2022
        • 2021
        • 2020
        • 2019
        • 2018
        • 2017
        • 2016
        • 2015
        • 2014
        • 2013
      • Calendar
      • Documents and publications
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Select Committee documents
      • Administrative Council
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Composition
        • Representatives
        • Rules of Procedure
        • Board of Auditors
        • Secretariat
        • Council bodies
    • Principles & strategy
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Mission, vision, values & corporate policy
      • Strategic Plan 2028
      • Towards a New Normal
      • Data protection & privacy notice
    • Leadership & management
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • About the President
      • Management Advisory Committee
    • Procurement
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Procurement forecast
      • Doing business with the EPO
      • Procurement procedures
      • About eTendering
      • Procurement portal
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • e-Signing contracts
      • Invoicing
      • General conditions
      • Archived tenders
    • Services & activities
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Our services & structure
      • Quality
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Foundations
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • European Patent Convention
          • Guidelines for examination
          • Our staff
        • Enabling quality
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Prior art
          • Classification
          • Tools
          • Processes
        • Products & services
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Search
          • Examination
          • Opposition
          • Continuous improvement
        • Quality through networking
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • User engagement
          • Co-operation
          • User satisfaction survey
          • Stakeholder Quality Assurance Panels
        • Patent Quality Charter
        • Statistics
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Search
          • Examination
          • Opposition
      • Consulting our users
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Standing Advisory Committee before the EPO (SACEPO)
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Objectives
          • SACEPO and its working parties
          • Meetings
          • Single Access Portal – SACEPO Area
        • Surveys
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Search services
          • Examination services, final actions and publication
          • Opposition services
          • Patent filings
            • Go back
            • Overview
            • Detailed methodology
            • Archive
          • Online Services
          • Patent information
            • Go back
            • Overview
            • Innovation process survey
          • Customer services
          • Filing services
          • Website
          • Survey on electronic invoicing
          • Companies innovating in clean and sustainable technologies
      • Our user service charter
      • European and international co-operation
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Co-operation with member states
          • Go back
          • Overview
        • Bilateral co-operation with non-member states
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Validation system
          • Reinforced Partnership programme
        • Multilateral international co-operation with IP offices and organisations
        • Co-operation with international organisations outside the IP system
      • European Patent Academy
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Partners
      • Chief Economist
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Economic studies
      • Ombuds Office
      • Reporting wrongdoing
    • Statistics and trends
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Statistics & Trends Centre
      • EPO Data Hub
      • Clarification on data sources
    • Social responsibility
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Environment
      • Art collection
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • The collection
        • Let's talk about art
        • Artists
        • Media library
        • What's on
        • Publications
        • Contact
        • Culture Space A&T 5-10
          • Go back
          • Catalyst lab & Deep vision
            • Go back
            • aqua_forensic
            • LIMINAL
            • MaterialLab
            • Perfect Sleep
            • Proof of Work
            • TerraPort
            • Unfinished Sculpture - Captives #1
            • Deep vision – immersive exhibition
          • The European Patent Journey
          • Sustaining life. Art in the climate emergency
          • Next generation statements
          • Open storage
          • Cosmic bar
        • Lange Nacht 2023
    • History
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • 1970s
      • 1980s
      • 1990s
      • 2000s
      • 2010s
      • 2020s
    • Transparency portal
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • General
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Annual Review 2022
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Foreword
          • Executive summary
          • Goal 1: Engaged and empowered
          • Goal 2: Digital transformation
          • Goal 3: Master quality
          • Goal 4: Partner for positive impact
          • Goal 5: Secure sustainability
      • Human
      • Environmental
      • Organisational
      • Social and relational
      • Economic
      • Governance
    • Observatory on Patents and Technology
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • About the Observatory
      • Our activities
      • Our topics
      • Our partners and networks
      • Digital library
      • Data desk
  • Boards of Appeal
    • Go back
    • Overview
    • Decisions of the Boards of Appeal
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Recent decisions
      • Selected decisions
    • Procedure
    • Annual reports
      • Go back
      • Overview
    • Organisation
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • President of the Boards of Appeal
      • Enlarged Board of Appeal
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Pending referrals (Art. 112 EPC)
        • Decisions sorted by number (Art. 112 EPC)
        • Pending petitions for review (Art. 112a EPC)
        • Decisions on petitions for review (Art. 112a EPC)
      • Technical Boards of Appeal
      • Legal Board of Appeal
      • Disciplinary Board of Appeal
      • Presidium
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Composition of the Presidium
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Archive
    • Code of Conduct
    • Business distribution scheme
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Technical boards of appeal by IPC in 2023
      • Archive
    • Annual list of cases
    • Communications
    • Publications
    • Case Law of the Boards of Appeal
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Archive
    • Case Law from the Contracting States to the EPC
    • Oral proceedings
  • Service & support
    • Go back
    • Overview
    • Website updates
    • Availability of online services
      • Go back
      • Overview
    • FAQ
      • Go back
      • Overview
    • Publications
    • Ordering
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Terms and conditions
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Patent information products
        • Bulk data sets
        • Open Patent Services (OPS)
        • Fair use charter
    • Procedural communications
    • Useful links
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Patent offices of member states
      • Other patent offices
      • Legal resources
      • Directories of patent attorneys
      • Patent databases, registers and gazettes
      • Disclaimer
    • Contact us
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Filing options
      • Locations
      • Specific contact
    • Subscription centre
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Subscribe
      • Change preferences
      • Unsubscribe
    • Official holidays
    • Forums
    • Glossary
    • RSS feeds
Board of Appeals
Decisions

Recent decisions

Overview
  • 2023 decisions
  • 2022 decisions
  • 2021 decisions
https://www.epo.org/en/node/t900154ex1
  1. Home
  2. T 0154/90 (Apportionment of costs) 19-12-1991
Facebook X Linkedin Email

T 0154/90 (Apportionment of costs) 19-12-1991

European Case Law Identifier
ECLI:EP:BA:1991:T015490.19911219
Date of decision
19 December 1991
Case number
T 0154/90
Petition for review of
-
Application number
84308814.7
IPC class
B65B 69/00
Language of proceedings
EN
Distribution
PUBLISHED IN THE EPO'S OFFICIAL JOURNAL (A)

Download and more information:

Decision in EN 680.27 KB
Documentation of the appeal procedure can be found in the European Patent Register
Bibliographic information is available in:
EN
Versions
OJ
Published
Application title
-
Applicant name
De la Rue Sytems
Opponent name
GAO
Board
3.2.04
Headnote

1. If the appeal relating to the revocation of a patent is rejected as inadmissible and there is no other admissible request, an appeal relating to apportionment of costs is inadmissible, it being the sole subject of an appeal (Article 106(4) EPC).

2. If, however, the impugned decision did not take into account the withdrawal of the request for oral proceedings and was, therefore, based on a substantial procedural violation, the part of the impugned decision relating to apportionment of costs is to be set aside.

Relevant legal provisions
European Patent Convention Art 106(4) 1973
European Patent Convention Art 108 1973
European Patent Convention Art 116 1973
European Patent Convention R 63 1973
European Patent Convention R 65 1973
Keywords

Admissibility of appeal

Withdrawal of request for oral proceedings - in time

Apportionment of costs

Catchword
-
Cited decisions
-
Citing decisions
T 0075/00
T 0399/92
T 0432/92
T 0210/00
T 0254/03
T 1256/06
T 0049/93
T 0737/94
T 0875/98
T 0574/99
T 0165/00
T 0349/00
T 0357/07
T 0662/96

I. European patent no. 146 391 was granted on 29 July 1987 in response to the European patent application no. 84 308 814.7 filed on 17 December 1984.

II. On 22 April 1988 the Opponent filed a notice of opposition against this European patent, requesting that it be revoked on the ground of non-patentability because of lack of novelty and lack of inventive step.

III. In a communication dated 31 March 1989 the Opposition Division informed the parties of its opinion that a decision could be reached without oral proceedings. Thereupon the Patentee withdrew his request for oral proceedings. However, in a letter dated 6 July 1989, the Opponent maintained his request for oral proceedings. By letter dated 20 September 1989 the Patentee requested reimbursement of "costs in the sum of attorneys fees incurred subsequent to the 11th May 1989", if the Opposition Division finally decided in favour of the Patentee.

IV. Oral proceedings were held on 15 December 1989. The Opponent was not present. The Patentee filed a new set of claims, overcoming thereby an objection made by the Opponent in his letter dated 6 July 1989, and requested the maintenance of the patent on the basis of this new set of claims.

V. The Opposition Division, in its interlocutory decision, taken at the end of the oral proceedings and dispatched to the parties on 9 January 1990, maintained the patent in an amended form and decided that the Patentee's costs incurred in connection with the oral proceedings should be borne by the Opponent since, in the Opposition Division's opinion, firstly, the Opponent had not attended the oral proceedings held at his request and, secondly, oral proceedings were not necessary to reach the decision.

VI. The Opponent (Appellant) filed an appeal on 19 February 1990 and paid the appeal fee at the same time. The statement of grounds of appeal was filed on 15 May 1990. The Opponent requests: the cancellation of the impugned decision, the revocation of the patent on the grounds set out during the opposition proceedings, and the cancellation of the apportionment of costs on the ground that he had informed the EPO in due time, i.e. by letter dated 6 December 1989 and received by the EPO the same day, that he withdrew his request for oral proceedings but that the EPO had not taken that withdrawal into account.

VII. In a communication pursuant to Article 110(2) EPC dated 25 September 1990 the Board made the preliminary observation that, in accordance with previous decisions of the Boards of Appeal, the Opponent's reference to the grounds filed during the opposition proceedings was insufficient to make the request to revoke the patent admissible but that his request relating to the apportionment of costs could be considered as admissible because it appeared to be the consequence of a main request relating to the cancellation of the impugned decision on the ground of a substantial procedural violation.

VIII. The Patentee (Respondent) then requested, in a letter dated 1 October 1990, that, in the event the apportionment of costs is set aside, the EPO reimburse him for costs incurred as result of the EPO not communicating the letter from the Opponent to the Patentee.

IX. With letter dated 4 December 1990, the Opponent requested a decision in line with the Board's communication dated 25 September 1990.

X. In a second communication dated 18 June 1991, the Board pointed out that it did not find, either in the EPC or in any other legal text, a provision which enabled it to consider requests against the EPO for compensation in respect of loss or damage allegedly sustained in the course of European patent proceedings. Additionally, because a new set of claims was filed at the oral proceedings, the Board hesitated to agree with the Opposition Division's statement that the oral proceedings were not necessary to reach the decision.

XI. In his last letter dated 3 July 1991 the Patentee argued that in his view no substantial procedural violation by the EPO had in fact taken place and he submitted that the appeal should be considered inadmissible since a clear statement of the grounds of appeal had not been made. He still contested the necessity for the oral proceedings and argued that decision T 10/82 dated 15 March 1983 (OJ EPO, 1983, 407), in which a Board of Appeal had considered that 8 working days between the receipt of a letter and the date of oral proceedings was an unacceptable and unreasonably short length of time, was a complete precedent for the present case because here also there were exactly 8 working days between the date of receipt and the date of the oral proceedings. Furthermore, he drew the attention of the Board to Part D-IX, 1.4 of the Guidelines for Examination in the European Patent Office which sets out a number of examples of situations in which costs will be apportioned and he stressed that one of these examples is the case where "a party requests the postponement of oral proceedings which have already been fixed, without good reason, and so late that the other parties summoned cannot be informed of the postponement in time."

He requested finally that the Appeal Board find the appeal inadmissible or alternatively dismiss it on the grounds that there has been no substantial procedural violation by the EPO and the decision of the Opposition Division should be upheld and costs awarded to the Proprietor. He did not further mention the former request for reimbursement of costs by the EPO.

XII. The Opponent in his answer dated 29 August 1991 contended, relating to the admissibility of the appeal, that his request for the revocation of the patent sufficiently set out the grounds of appeal because it was German legal practice to refer to statements filed in the foregoing proceedings in order to avoid repetition. He stressed that his withdrawal of the request for oral proceedings had occurred in time and contested that decision T 10/82 could be considered as a precedent for the present case because in that decision the 8 days related to the filing of a letter containing new facts submitted for the consideration of the Board and not to a simple withdrawal of a request for oral proceedings.

1. According to the Board, the appeal lodged by the Appellant in order to obtain the cancellation of the impugned decision has two different aims: the first relates to the revocation of the patent whereas the second relates to the cancellation of the apportionment of costs. In order to achieve these aims, the Opponent filed two corresponding requests. Prima facie it appears that these requests constitute two different subjects of appeal: the first concerns the cancellation of the part of the impugned decision relating to the maintenance of the patent (see section 1.2 below), the second concerns the cancellation of the part of the impugned decision relating to the apportionment of costs (see section 1.3 below). In the Board's view, a subject of appeal is that type of request which can only be successful if the impugned decision is totally or partially cancelled. That an appeal can have two or more subjects is clear from Article 106(4) EPC (see section 1.3 below).

1.1. Although the appeal clearly complies with Articles 106(1) to (3) and (5) and 107 and with Rule 64 EPC, as well as with the first two sentences of Article 108 EPC, the Board wants to consider the question whether or not the grounds advanced in support of the subject of appeal concerning the revocation of the patent can be regarded, in terms of content, as having met the condition relating to the written statement laid down in the third sentence of Article 108 EPC (see section 1.2 below) and whether or not Article 106(4) EPC hinders the admissibility of the subject of appeal relating to the apportionment of costs (see section 1.3 below).

1.2. With respect to the grounds put forward by the Opponent for revocation of the patent, the Board considers that, having regard to previous decisions taken by the Boards of Appeal (T 220/83 OJ EPO 1986,249; T 213/85 OJ EPO 1987,482 and T 432/88, unpublished), these grounds are insufficient to make this first subject of appeal admissible.

1.2.1. The grounds of opposition brought forward by the Opponent in the opposition proceedings, have in fact been dealt with by the Opposition Division in a comprehensive communication and in their decision. The written statement relating to this first subject of appeal only makes a general reference to the Opponent's submissions in the foregoing opposition proceedings, without stating the legal or factual reasons why that impugned decision should be set aside.

1.2.2. Consequently, the Opponent has left it entirely to the Board and the Patentee to conjecture why the Opponent considers the decision relating to the maintenance of the patent in the amended form to be defective. It is precisely this situation which, according to the established jurisprudence of the Boards of Appeal of the EPO, the requirement that grounds for appeal be filed is designed to prevent.

The reference by the Opponent to German legal practice does not help further, since this particular practice would run contrary to the established jurisprudence of the Boards of Appeal of the EPO.

1.2.3. It follows that the mere reference in the written statement in the present case to what was set out by the Opponent during the opposition proceedings for revocation of the impugned patent does not comply with the requirement of Article 108 EPC, last sentence, for a written statement setting out the grounds of appeal. Consequently, and in accordance with Rule 65(1) EPC, the part of the appeal requesting revocation of the patent and which constitutes the first subject of said appeal has to be rejected as inadmissible.

1.2.4. However, the inadmissibility of this first subject of appeal does not automatically cause the appeal as a whole to be inadmissible when, as in the present case, other subjects of appeal have been filed in due time (see section 1, last sentence).

1.3. Consequently, having regard to the Opponent's prima facie second subject of appeal for cancellation of the part of the decision relating to the apportionment of costs, it is noted first, that the Opponent gave a sufficient explanation as to why this part of the impugned decision should be set aside, so that this subject of appeal satisfies the requirement of Article 108 EPC, last sentence. However, Article 106(4) EPC states that the apportionment of costs of opposition proceedings cannot be the sole subject of an appeal. Prima facie, it therefore seems that the second subject of appeal must fail.

1.3.1. In the present case, the subject of appeal relating to the revocation of the patent no longer exists because of its inadmissibility (see section 1.2).

1.3.2. However, the written statement filed by the Opponent by letter dated 15 May 1990 makes it clear that the request relating to the apportionment of costs is the consequence of another request relating to the cancellation of that part of the impugned decision which did not take into account the withdrawal of the request for oral proceedings and which is therefore based on a substantial procedural violation. Following the definition given above (see section 1), this latter request is in the Board's view the second subject of the present appeal, a subject which is different from the third one relating, in accordance with Article 106(4) EPC, to the apportionment of costs as such.

1.3.3. The Board considers that these two subjects of appeal, namely the second and the third subjects of appeal, have the same grounds i.e. the substantial procedural violation alleged by the Opponent. Therefore, it is stated that both satisfy Article 108 EPC, last sentence, and consequently that the subject of appeal relating to the apportionment of costs is not the sole remaining subject of the present appeal. These two subjects therefore are admissible.

2. With respect to the second subject of appeal (see section 1.3.2., last sentence), it was stated in the impugned decision that the Patentee's costs incurred in connection with the proceedings should be borne by the Opponent because he did not appear at the oral proceedings held at his request.

2.1. However, in the opposition file there is a letter dated 6 December 1989 in which the Opponent withdrew his request for oral proceedings. During the appeal proceedings the Opponent filed a copy of this letter which proves with its EPO date perforation that the receiving date by the EPO was also the 6 December 1989.

2.2. Due to unexplained circumstances inside the EPO the Opposition division received the letter only after the oral proceedings took place. Consequently, the decision taken at the end of these oral proceedings did not take into account the Opponent's withdrawal of his request for oral proceedings and it ordered an apportionment of costs. Therefore, due to the Opposition division lacking information, the part of the impugned decision relating to the apportionment of costs is based on the wrong premiss and is therefore the result of a substantial procedural violation.

3. With respect to the third subject of appeal (see section 1.3.2, last sentence), it is clear from the file of the case that a period of 6 working days (or 8 days in total) separates the date of receipt of the letter by the EPO and the date of the oral proceedings (these two days are not included in the period).

3.1. Consequently, the question to be answered in order to decide whether the costs have to be borne by the opponent or not is the following: Is a period of 6 working days sufficient for the EPO to cancel planned oral proceedings or not? The question of whether it was necessary to hold the oral proceedings is of no relevance. Indeed, before his withdrawal, only the Opponent had requested the oral proceedings. If he withdrew his request in time, there would have been no reason to hold them since the Patentee and the Opposition Division had clearly stated that they did not want oral proceedings.

3.2. In decision T 10/82, the Respondents filed new facts 8 working days before the oral proceedings were held and the Opposition Division decided that: "the oral proceedings would have been unnecessary if the Respondents had communicated to the EPO at an earlier stage the above- mentioned facts pertinent to the decision." This means that a period of 8 working days was considered as insufficient for the Opposition Division to examine the newly submitted facts and then to cancel the oral proceedings. In the present case, during the period of 6 working days, the only action to be taken by the Opposition Division after receiving the withdrawal of the request was to cancel the oral proceedings. No evaluation of new facts or arguments was needed. Therefore, the Board concludes that decision T 10/82 cannot be considered as a precedent to the present case.

3.3. In the present case, the oral proceedings were not cancelled because the letter received by the EPO on 6 December 1989 was not sent in time to the Opposition Division. This failure has to be attributed to the EPO which should be organised in such a way that incoming mail relating to proceedings is promptly forwarded to the competent department, which, with the help of the available technical means of communication such as telephone, telegram, telex or facsimile, should have immediately informed all the parties to the proceedings not only of the withdrawal of the Opponent's request, but also of the cancellation of the (unnecessary) oral proceedings. In conclusion, if the EPO had taken in this case all due care required by the circumstances, a period of 6 working days (which means 8 days in total) would have been sufficient to cancel the oral proceedings and to inform the Patentee accordingly in due time.

3.4. The Patentee's reference to the Guidelines for Examination in the EPO does not help his case. The example given in the last paragraph of Part D-IX, 1.4 of the Guidelines concerns a case where the other parties summoned cannot be informed of the postponement in time. According to the Board, there is no relation between such a case and the present one since, in the present case, it is not reasonable to state that a period of 8 days, including 6 working days, is too short to inform the other parties involved, for example, simply by sending a note by facsimile to the effect that the oral proceedings are cancelled. As already put forward above, it is up to the EPO to organise itself in such a way that incoming mail is promptly forwarded, at least within a couple of days.

3.5. Furthermore, Article 116 EPC gives each party to the proceedings the right to be heard orally. This right stands even if all other parties involved and the Opposition Division believe that the oral proceedings are superfluous. If at a later stage, after the parties have been summoned, the party which requested the oral proceedings changes its mind, for whatever reason, and correspondingly informs the Opposition Division in time, it does not automatically follow that irresponsible or malicious conduct on the part of that party is proven, so that the Board considers there is no automatic link between such conduct and apportionment of costs.

4. Therefore, considering that the Opponent informed the EPO in time that he withdrew his request for oral proceedings, the Board decides that the order of the impugned decision to apportion costs was the consequence of the substantial procedural violation (see section 2.2) and consequently that this particular order must be set aside.

5. Referring to Article 104 EPC, due to the above considerations, the Board considers that there are no reasons of equity to decide that the Patentee's costs incurred as a result of the oral proceedings held before the Opposition Division should be borne by the Opponent. Accordingly, each party to the opposition proceedings shall meet the costs he has incurred.

Order

ORDER

For these reasons, it is decided that:

1. The subject of appeal relating to the revocation of the patent is rejected as inadmissible.

2. The subjects of appeal relating to the cancellation of the impugned interlocutory decision on the ground that the EPO did not consider the withdrawal of the request for oral proceedings, and to the apportionment of costs are both admissible.

3. The part of the impugned interlocutory decision relating to the apportionment of costs is set aside.

4. The patent is maintained on the basis of the documents accompanying the impugned interlocutory decision.

5. The Patentee's costs incurred as a result of the oral proceedings held before the Opposition Division are not to be borne by the Opponent.

Footer - Service & support
  • Service & support
    • FAQ
    • Publications
    • Procedural communications
    • Contact us
    • Subscription centre
    • Official holidays
    • Forums
    • Glossary
Footer - More links
  • Jobs & careers
  • Press centre
  • Single Access Portal
  • Procurement
  • Boards of Appeal
SoMe facebook 0
European Patent Office
EPO Jobs
SoMe instagram
EuropeanPatentOffice
SoMe linkedIn
European Patent Office
EPO Jobs
EPO Procurement
SoMe twitter
EPOorg
EPOjobs
SoMe youtube
TheEPO
Footer
  • Legal notice
  • Terms of use
  • Data protection and privacy
  • Accessibility