1.4 Claims fees due in response to Rule 71(3) communication

If the text of the European patent application serving as the basis for grant contains more than fifteen claims, the examining division requests the applicant to pay, within the period under Rule 71(3), claims fees in respect of each claim in excess of that number unless they have already done so under Rule 45(1) or Rule 162(1) and Rule 162(2) (see A‑III, 9). Where there is more than one set of claims, fees are incurred under Rule 45(1), Rule 162(1) and Rule 162(2), or Rule 71(4) only for the set with the highest number of claims.

If the text on which the Rule 71(3) communication is based contains fewer claims than the set in respect of which claims fees were paid on filing under Rule 45 or on entry into the European phase under Rule 162, no refund of claims fees will be made.

Where the communication under Rule 71(3) is based on an auxiliary request, the number of claims in the request determines the claims fees due in response to the communication. However, if the applicant replies by requesting a grant based on a higher-ranking request, no claims fees need to be paid in response to the communication (see C‑V, 4.1).