2.3.4 Designation of inventor 

The requirement, as set out in A‑III, 5 ("Designation of inventor"), that the designation of inventor is filed in a separate document where the applicant is not the inventor or the sole inventor has to be complied with irrespective of the language of the international application unless the inventor has already been named in the PCT request. Where an inventor has been named in the PCT request, the latter cannot waive their right to be mentioned in the published application. If the inventor has not been named in the international application at the expiry of the period of 31 months from the date of filing, or, in the case of priority, from the earliest date of priority claimed (31-month time limit), the EPO invites the applicant to file the designation of inventor within a period of two months. Failure to rectify this deficiency in time, leads to refusal of the application according to Rule 163(6). Applicants will be notified of this decision according to Rule 111. They may request further processing (see E‑VIII, 2).