Guidelines
The official collection of all important information about the EPC Guidelines, the PCT-EPO Guidelines and their revision cycle, including the results of the online user consultation and the two annual meetings of the SACEPO Working Party on Guidelines.
Guidelines for Examination in the EPO
Practice and procedures from the filing of a European patent application to grant and in post-grant opposition, limitation and revocation
Read moreGuidelines for Search and Examination at the EPO as PCT Authority
Practice and procedures before the EPO as receiving Office, International Searching Authority and International Preliminary Examining Authority
Read moreUnitary Patent Guidelines
Practice and procedures for obtaining, maintaining and managing European patents with unitary effect
Revision cycle
The Guidelines are revised annually, starting with a user consultation in February each year. You can view a summary of user responses to the annual public user consultation in our "Feedback" section below.
Read moreSACEPO Working Party on Guidelines
The SACEPO Working Party on Guidelines meets twice a year to agree on suggested updates and clarifications
Consultation resultsFeedback
Users can send comments on the EPC and PCT-EPO Guidelines to Guidelines@epo.org at any time of the year. They also have an opportunity to provide their feedback in a public user consultation on the Guidelines, starting in February of each year.
Archive
Previous editions of the EPC Guidelines and the PCT-EPO Guidelines
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