6.1. Partial refund of the examination fee

The Legal Board ruled in J 25/10 (OJ 2011, 624, see headnote) that following the withdrawal of a European patent application, a refusal by the examining division of a request for a 75% refund of the examination fee, on the basis that substantive examination has already begun (Art. 11(b) RFees), must be based on facts which objectively demonstrate that this is so. See also J 9/10. Following these two decisions the EPO made adjustments to the system for refunding search and examination fees – see notice dated 29 January 2013 (OJ 2013, 153).