4.1.1 Indication that a European patent is sought 

The requirement, referred to in A‑II, 4.1(a), to provide an indication that a patent is sought is fulfilled if the applicant uses the prescribed request for grant form (EPO Form 1001), which is available in EPO Online Filing and Online Filing 2.0 (see A‑II, 1.1.1) or can be downloaded in PDF format free of charge from the EPO website (epo.org). While using EPO Form 1001 is mandatory, it is not a requirement for obtaining a date of filing (see also A‑III, 4 and A-III, 16).