2.1.2 Application of Rule 137(4)

Both voluntary and mandatory amendments under Rule 161 which are intended to form the basis for further examination must comply with the requirements under Rule 137(4) before expiry of the six-month period under Rules 161 and 162. This means that the amendments must be identified, together with their basis in the application as filed. If the requirements under Rule 137(4) have not been fulfilled for any amendments already filed, the required information must be provided before expiry of the six-month period under Rules 161 and 162. If the applicant has still not fulfilled them by expiry of that period, the examining division may invite them in a communication under Rule 137(4) to provide the information within a period of one month.

Failure to respond to the communication in due time will lead to the application being deemed to be withdrawn under Art. 94(4) (H‑III, 2.1.1). This loss of rights can be remedied by requesting further processing under Art. 121.

The examining division may send a Rule 137(4) communication before sending a communication under Art. 94(3) and Rule 71(1), (2) or (3). The communication under Rule 137(4) can only be issued by the examining division, and not by the search division drawing up a supplementary European search report (B‑XI, 2; H‑III, 2.1.1).