HomeHome
 
  • Homepage
  • Searching for patents

    Patent knowledge

    Access our patent databases and search tools.

    Go to overview 

    • Overview
    • Technical information
      • Overview
      • Espacenet - patent search
      • European Publication Server
      • Searching Asian documents: patent search and monitoring services
      • EP full-text search
      • Bibliographic coverage in Espacenet and OPS
      • Full-text coverage in Espacenet and OPS
    • Legal information
      • Overview
      • European Patent Register
      • European Patent Bulletin
      • European Case Law Identifier sitemap
      • Searching Asian documents
      • Third-party observations
    • Business information
      • Overview
      • PATSTAT
      • IPscore
      • Patent insight reports
    • Data
      • Overview
      • Linked open EP data
      • Bulk data sets
      • Web services
      • Coverage, codes and statistics
    • Helpful resources
      • Overview
      • First time here?
      • Asian patent information
      • Patent information centres
      • Patent Translate
      • Patent Knowledge News
      • Business and statistics
      • Unitary Patent information in patent knowledge

    UP search

    Learn about the Unitary Patent in patent knowledge products and services

  • Applying for a patent

    Applying for a patent

    Practical information on filing and grant procedures.

    Go to overview 

    • Overview
    • European route
      • Overview
      • European Patent Guide
      • Oppositions
      • Oral proceedings
      • Appeals
      • Unitary Patent & Unified Patent Court
      • National validation
      • Request for extension/validation
    • International route (PCT)
      • Overview
      • Euro-PCT Guide – PCT procedure at the EPO
      • EPO decisions and notices
      • PCT provisions and resources
      • Extension/validation request
      • Reinforced partnership programme
      • Accelerating your PCT application
      • Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH)
      • Training and events
    • National route
    • MyEPO services
      • Overview
      • Understand our services
      • Get access
      • File with us
      • Interact on your files
      • Online Filing & fee payment outages
      • Tutorials
    • Find a professional representative
    • Forms
      • Overview
      • Request for examination
    • Fees
      • Overview
      • European fees (EPC)
      • International fees (PCT)
      • Unitary Patent fees (UP)
      • Fee payment and refunds
      • Warning

    UP

    Unitary Patent

  • Law & practice

    Law & practice

    European patent law, the Official Journal and other legal texts.

    Go to overview 

    • Overview
    • Legal texts
      • Overview
      • European Patent Convention
      • Official Journal
      • EPC Guidelines
      • PCT-EPO Guidelines
      • Guidelines revision cycle
      • Extension / validation system
      • London Agreement
      • National law relating to the EPC
      • Unitary patent system
      • National law relating to the UP
    • Court practices
      • Overview
      • European Patent Judges' Symposium
    • User consultations
      • Overview
      • Ongoing consultations
      • Completed consultations
    • Substantive patent law harmonisation
      • Overview
      • The Tegernsee process
      • Group B+
    • Convergence of practice
    • Options for professional representatives

    legal text

    Legal texts

  • News & events

    News & events

    Our latest news, podcasts and events, including the European Inventor Award.

    Go to overview 

     

    • Overview
    • News
    • Events
    • European Inventor Award
      • Overview
      • About the award
      • Categories and prizes
      • Meet the finalists
      • Nominations
      • Watch the 2022 ceremony
    • Press centre
      • Overview
      • Patent Index and statistics
      • Search in press centre
      • Background information
      • Copyright
      • Press contacts
      • Call back form
      • Email alert service
    • Innovation and patenting in focus
      • Overview
      • Firefighting technologies
      • Green tech in focus
      • CodeFest on Green Plastics
      • Clean energy technologies
      • IP and youth
      • Research institutes
      • Women inventors
      • Fighting coronavirus
      • Lifestyle
      • Space and satellites
      • The future of medicine
      • Materials science
      • Mobile communications
      • Biotechnology
      • Patent classification
      • Digital technologies
      • The future of manufacturing
      • Books by EPO experts
    • "Talk innovation" podcast

    Podcast

    Listen to our podcast

  • Learning

    Learning

    The e-Academy – the point of access to your learning

    Go to overview 

    • Overview
    • European Patent Academy
      • Overview
      • Learning activities
      • Learning paths
    • Professional hub
      • Overview
      • EQE - European qualifying examination
      • EPAC - European patent administration certification
    • Learning resources by area of interest
      • Overview
      • Patent granting
      • Technology transfer and dissemination
      • Patent enforcement and litigation
    • Learning resources by area by profile
      • Overview
      • Business and IP managers
      • EQE candidates
      • Judges, lawyers and prosecutors
      • National offices and IP authorities
      • Patent attorneys and paralegals
      • Universities, research centres and technology transfer centres (TTOs)

    European Patent Academy

    Boost your IP knowledge with (e-)training from the European Patent Academy

  • About us

    About us

    Find out more about our work, values, history and vision

    Go to overview 

    • Overview
    • The EPO at a glance
    • 50 years of the EPC
      • Overview
      • A glimpse of the planned activities
      • Kids’ collaborative art competition
      • 50 Leading Tech Voices
    • Legal foundations and member states
      • Overview
      • Legal foundations
      • Member states of the European Patent Organisation
      • Extension states
      • Validation states
    • Governance
      • Overview
      • Communiqués
      • Calendar
      • Select Committee documents
      • Administrative Council
    • Principles & strategy
      • Overview
      • Our mission, vision, values and corporate policy
      • Public consultation on the EPO's Strategic Plan 2028
      • Towards a New Normal
    • Leadership & management
      • Overview
      • President António Campinos
      • Management Advisory Committee
    • Social responsibility
      • Overview
      • Environment and sustainability
      • Art collection
    • Services & activities
      • Overview
      • Our services & structure
      • Quality
      • Consulting our users
      • European and international co-operation
      • European Patent Academy
      • Chief Economist
      • Ombuds Office
      • Reporting wrongdoing
    • Procurement
      • Overview
      • Procurement forecast
      • Doing business with the EPO
      • Procurement procedures
      • About eTendering and electronic signatures
      • Procurement portal
      • Invoicing
      • General conditions
      • Archived tenders
    • Transparency portal
      • Overview
      • General
      • Human
      • Environmental
      • Organisational
      • Social and relational
      • Economic
      • Governance
    • Statistics and trends
      • Overview
      • Statistics & Trends Centre
      • EPO Data Hub
      • Clarification on data sources
    • History
      • Overview
      • 1970s
      • 1980s
      • 1990s
      • 2000s
      • 2010s
      • 2020s

    about us

    Patent Index 2022

 
en de fr
  • Language selection
  • English
  • Deutsch
  • Français
Main navigation
  • Homepage
  • New to patents
    • Go back
    • Overview
    • What's your big idea?
    • Are you ready?
    • What to expect
    • How to apply for a patent
    • Your business and patents
    • Is it patentable?
    • Are you first?
    • Why do we have patents?
    • Patent quiz
    • Unitary patent video
  • Searching for patents
    • Go back
    • Overview
    • Technical information
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Espacenet - patent search
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • National patent office databases
        • Global Patent Index (GPI)
        • Release notes
      • European Publication Server
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Cross-reference index for Euro-PCT applications
        • EP authority file
        • Help
      • Searching Asian documents
      • EP full-text search
      • Bibliographic coverage in Espacenet and OPS
      • Full-text coverage in Espacenet
    • Legal information
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • European Patent Register
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Release notes archive
        • Register documentation
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Deep link data coverage
          • Federated Register
            • Go back
            • Overview
            • BG - Federated Register Service
            • GB - Federated Register Service
            • NL - Federated Register Service
            • MK - Federated Register Service
            • ES - Federated Register Service
            • GR - Federated Register Service
            • SK - Federated Register Service
            • FR - Federated Register Service
            • MT - Federated Register Service
          • Register events
      • European Patent Bulletin
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Download Bulletin
        • EP Bulletin search
        • Help
      • European Case Law Identifier sitemap
      • Searching Asian documents
      • Third-party observations
    • Business information
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • PATSTAT
      • IPscore
        • Go back
        • Release notes
      • Patent insight reports
    • Data
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Linked open EP data
      • Bulk data sets
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Manuals
        • Sequence listings
        • National full-text data
        • European Patent Register data
        • EPO worldwide bibliographic data (DOCDB)
        • EP full-text data
        • EPO worldwide legal event data (INPADOC)
        • EP bibliographic data (EBD)
          • Go back
          • EBD files (weekly download) - free of charge
            • Go back
            • Secure EBD ST.36 files (weekly download) - for national patent offices only
        • Boards of Appeal decisions
        • EP full-text data for text analytics
      • Web services
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Open Patent Services (OPS)
        • European Publication Server
      • Coverage, codes and statistics
        • Go back
        • Weekly updates
        • Updated regularly
    • Helpful resources
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • First time here? Patent information explained.
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Basic definitions
        • Patent classification
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC)
        • Patent families
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • DOCDB simple patent family
          • INPADOC extended patent family
        • Legal event data
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • INPADOC classification scheme
      • Asian patent information
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • China (CN)
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Facts and figures
          • Grant procedure
          • Numbering system
          • Useful terms
          • Searching in databases
        • Chinese Taipei (TW)
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Grant procedure
          • Numbering system
          • Useful terms
          • Searching in databases
        • India (IN)
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Facts and figures
          • Grant procedure
          • Numbering system
        • Japan (JP)
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Facts and figures
          • Grant procedure
          • Numbering system
          • Useful terms
          • Searching in databases
        • Korea (KR)
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Facts and figures
          • Grant procedure
          • Numbering system
          • Useful terms
          • Searching in databases
        • Russian Federation (RU)
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Facts and figures
          • Numbering system
          • Searching in databases
        • Useful links
      • Patent information centres (PATLIB)
      • Patent Translate
      • Patent Knowledge News
      • Business and statistics
      • Unitary Patent information in patent knowledge
  • Applying for a patent
    • Go back
    • Overview
    • European route
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • European Patent Guide
      • Oppositions
      • Oral proceedings
        • Go back
        • Oral proceedings calendar
          • Go back
          • Calendar
          • Public access to appeal proceedings
          • Public access to opposition proceedings
          • Technical guidelines
      • Appeals
      • Unitary Patent & Unified Patent Court
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Unitary Patent
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Legal framework
          • Unitary Patent Guide
          • Main features
          • Applying for a Unitary Patent
          • Cost of a Unitary Patent
          • Translation and compensation
          • Start date
        • Unified Patent Court
      • National validation
      • Extension/validation request
    • International route
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Euro-PCT Guide
      • Entry into the European phase
      • Decisions and notices
      • PCT provisions and resources
      • Extension/validation request
      • Reinforced partnership programme
      • Accelerating your PCT application
      • Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH)
        • Go back
        • Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) programme outline
      • Training and events
    • National route
    • MyEPO services
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Understand our services
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Online Filing 2.0 pilot
        • MyEPO Portfolio - pilot phase
        • Online Filing 2.0 pilot continuation
        • Exchange data with us using an API
      • Get access
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Installation and activation
      • File with us
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • What if our online filing services are down?
        • Release notes
      • Interact on your files
      • Online Filing & fee payment outages
      • Tutorials
    • Fees
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • European fees (EPC)
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Decisions and notices
      • International fees (PCT)
        • Go back
        • Reduction in fees
        • Fees for international applications
        • Decisions and notices
        • Overview
      • Unitary Patent fees (UP)
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Decisions and notices
      • Fee payment and refunds
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Payment methods
        • Getting started
        • FAQs and other documentation
        • Technical information for batch payments
        • Decisions and notices
        • Release notes
      • Warning
    • Forms
      • Go back
      • Request for examination
    • Find a professional representative
  • Law & practice
    • Go back
    • Overview
    • Legal texts
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • European Patent Convention
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Archive
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Documentation on the EPC revision 2000
            • Go back
            • Overview
            • Diplomatic Conference for the revision of the EPC
            • Travaux préparatoires
            • New text
            • Transitional provisions
            • Implementing regulations to the EPC 2000
            • Rules relating to Fees
            • Ratifications and accessions
          • Travaux Préparatoires EPC 1973
      • Official Journal
      • EPC Guidelines
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Archive
      • PCT-EPO Guidelines
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Archive
      • Guidelines revision cycle
      • Extension / validation system
      • London Agreement
      • National law relating to the EPC
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Archive
      • Unitary Patent system
      • National measures relating to the Unitary Patent 
    • Court practices
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • European Patent Judges' Symposium
    • User consultations
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Ongoing consultations
      • Completed consultations
    • Substantive patent law harmonisation
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • The Tegernsee process
      • Group B+
    • Convergence of practice
    • Options for professional representatives
  • News & events
    • Go back
    • Overview
    • News
    • Events
    • European Inventor Award
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • About the award
      • Categories and prizes
      • Meet the finalists
      • Nominations
      • Watch the 2023 ceremony
      • European Inventor Network
        • Go back
        • Activities granted in 2023
    • Press centre
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Patent Index and statistics
      • Search in press centre
      • Background information
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • European Patent Office
        • Q&A on patents related to coronavirus
        • Q&A on plant patents
      • Copyright
      • Press contacts
      • Call back form
      • Email alert service
    • In focus
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Firefighting technologies
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Detection and prevention of fires
        • Fire extinguishing
        • Protective equipment
        • Post-fire restoration
      • Green tech in focus
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • About green tech
        • Renewable energies
        • Energy transition technologies
        • Building a greener future
      • CodeFest on Green Plastics
      • Clean energy technologies
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Renewable energy
        • Carbon-intensive industries
        • Energy storage and other enabling technologies
      • IP and youth
      • Research institutes
      • Women inventors
      • Fighting coronavirus
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Vaccines and therapeutics
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Vaccines
          • Overview of candidate therapies for COVID-19
          • Candidate antiviral and symptomatic therapeutics
          • Nucleic acids and antibodies to fight coronavirus
        • Diagnostics and analytics
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Protein and nucleic acid assays
          • Analytical protocols
        • Informatics
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Bioinformatics
          • Healthcare informatics
        • Technologies for the new normal
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Devices, materials and equipment
          • Procedures, actions and activities
          • Digital technologies
        • Inventors against coronavirus
      • Lifestyle
      • Space and satellites
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Patents and space technologies
      • Healthcare
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Medical technologies and cancer
        • Personalised medicine
      • Materials science
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Nanotechnology
      • Mobile communications
      • Biotechnology
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Red, white or green
        • The role of the EPO
        • What is patentable?
        • Biotech inventors
      • Classification
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Nanotechnology
        • Climate change mitigation technologies
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • External partners
          • Updates on Y02 and Y04S
      • Digital technologies
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • About ICT
        • Hardware and software
        • Patents and standards
        • Artificial intelligence
        • Fourth Industrial Revolution
      • Additive manufacturing
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • About AM
        • AM innovation
      • Books by EPO experts
    • Podcast
  • Learning
    • Go back
    • Overview
    • European Patent Academy
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Learning activities
      • Learning Paths
    • Professional hub
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • EPAC - European patent administration certification
      • EQE - European Qualifying Examination
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Archive
        • Candidates successful in the European qualifying examination
        • Compendium
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Pre-examination
          • Paper A
          • Paper B
          • Paper C
          • Paper D
    • Learning resources by area of interest
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Patent granting
      • Technology transfer and dissemination
      • Patent enforcement and litigation
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Patent enforcement in Europe
        • Patent litigation in Europe
    • Learning resources by profile
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Business and IP managers
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Innovation case studies
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • SME case studies
          • Technology transfer case studies
          • High-growth technology case studies
        • Inventors' handbook
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Introduction
          • Disclosure and confidentiality
          • Novelty and prior art
            • Go back
            • Overview
            • Is the idea ‘obvious’?
            • Prior art searching
            • Professional patent searching
            • Simple Espacenet searching
            • What is prior art?
            • Why is novelty important?
          • Competition and market potential
            • Go back
            • Overview
            • Research guidelines
          • Assessing the risk ahead
            • Go back
            • Overview
            • Exploitation routes
            • Significant commercial potential
            • Significant novelty
            • What about you?
            • What if your idea is not novel but does have commercial potential?
          • Proving the invention
            • Go back
            • Overview
            • Help with design or redesign
            • Prototype strategy
          • Protecting your idea
            • Go back
            • Overview
            • Forms of IPR
            • Patenting strategy
            • The patenting process
          • Building a team and seeking funding
            • Go back
            • Overview
            • Building a team
            • Sources of funding
            • Sources of help for invention
          • Business planning
            • Go back
            • Overview
            • Constructing a business plan
            • Keep it short!
          • Finding and approaching companies
            • Go back
            • Overview
            • First contact
            • Meetings
          • Dealing with companies
            • Go back
            • Overview
            • Advance or guaranteed payment
            • Companies and your prototype
            • Full agreement – and beyond
            • Negotiating a licensing agreement
            • Reaching agreement
            • Royalties
        • Best of search matters
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Tools and databases
          • EPO procedures and initiatives
          • Search strategies
          • Challenges and specific topics
        • Support for high-growth technology businesses
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • For IP professionals
          • For business decision-makers
          • For stakeholders of the innovation ecosystem
        • IP clinics
      • EQE Candidates
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Coffee-break questions
        • Daily D questions
        • European qualifying examination - Guide for preparation
      • Judges, lawyers and prosecutors
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Compulsory licensing in Europe
        • The jurisdiction of European courts in patent disputes
      • National offices and IP authorities
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Learning material for examiners of national officers
        • Learning material for formalities officers and paralegals
      • Patent attorneys and paralegals
      • Universities, research centres and TTOs
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Academic Research Programme
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Completed research projects
          • Current research projects
        • Pan-European Seal Young Professionals Programme
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • For students
          • For universities
            • Go back
            • Overview
            • IP education resources
            • University memberships
          • Our young professionals
          • Professional development plan
        • IP Teaching Kit
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Download modules
        • Intellectual property course design manual
  • About us
    • Go back
    • Overview
    • The EPO at a glance
    • 50 years of the EPC
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • 50 Leading Tech Voices
      • Kids’ collaborative art competition
    • Legal foundations and member states
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Legal foundations
      • Member states
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Member states by date of accession
      • Extension states
      • Validation states
    • Governance
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Communiqués
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • 2022
        • 2021
        • 2020
        • 2019
        • 2018
        • 2017
        • 2016
        • 2015
        • 2014
        • 2013
      • Calendar
      • Documents and publications
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Select Committee documents
      • Administrative Council
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Composition
        • Representatives
        • Rules of Procedure
        • Board of Auditors
        • Secretariat
        • Council bodies
    • Principles & strategy
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Mission, vision, values & corporate policy
      • Strategic Plan 2028
      • Towards a New Normal
      • Data protection & privacy notice
    • Leadership & management
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • About the President
      • Management Advisory Committee
    • Procurement
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Procurement forecast
      • Doing business with the EPO
      • Procurement procedures
      • About eTendering
      • Procurement portal
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • e-Signing contracts
      • Invoicing
      • General conditions
      • Archived tenders
    • Services & activities
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Our services & structure
      • Quality
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Foundations
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • European Patent Convention
          • Guidelines for examination
          • Our staff
        • Enabling quality
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Prior art
          • Classification
          • Tools
          • Processes
        • Products & services
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Search
          • Examination
          • Opposition
          • Continuous improvement
        • Quality through networking
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • User engagement
          • Co-operation
          • User satisfaction survey
          • Stakeholder Quality Assurance Panels
        • Patent Quality Charter
        • Statistics
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Search
          • Examination
          • Opposition
      • Consulting our users
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Standing Advisory Committee before the EPO (SACEPO)
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Objectives
          • SACEPO and its working parties
          • Meetings
          • Single Access Portal – SACEPO Area
      • Our user service charter
      • European and international co-operation
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Co-operation with member states
          • Go back
          • Overview
        • Bilateral co-operation with non-member states
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Validation system
          • Reinforced Partnership programme
        • Multilateral international co-operation with IP offices and organisations
        • Co-operation with international organisations outside the IP system
      • European Patent Academy
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Partners
      • Chief Economist
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Economic studies
      • Ombuds Office
      • Reporting wrongdoing
    • Statistics and trends
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Statistics & Trends Centre
      • EPO Data Hub
      • Clarification on data sources
    • Social responsibility
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Environment
      • Art collection
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • The collection
        • Let's talk about art
        • Artists
        • Media library
        • What's on
        • Publications
        • Contact
    • History
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • 1970s
      • 1980s
      • 1990s
      • 2000s
      • 2010s
      • 2020s
    • Transparency portal
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • General
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Annual Review 2022
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Foreword
          • Executive summary
          • Goal 1: Engaged and empowered
          • Goal 2: Digital transformation
          • Goal 3: Master quality
          • Goal 4: Partner for positive impact
          • Goal 5: Secure sustainability
      • Human
      • Environmental
      • Organisational
      • Social and relational
      • Economic
      • Governance
  • Boards of Appeal
    • Go back
    • Overview
    • Decisions of the Boards of Appeal
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Recent decisions
      • Selected decisions
    • Procedure
    • Annual reports
      • Go back
      • Overview
    • Organisation
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • President of the Boards of Appeal
      • Enlarged Board of Appeal
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Pending referrals (Art. 112 EPC)
        • Decisions sorted by number (Art. 112 EPC)
        • Pending petitions for review (Art. 112a EPC)
        • Decisions on petitions for review (Art. 112a EPC)
      • Technical Boards of Appeal
      • Legal Board of Appeal
      • Disciplinary Board of Appeal
      • Presidium
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Composition of the Presidium
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Archive
    • Code of Conduct
    • Business distribution scheme
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Technical boards of appeal by IPC in 2023
      • Archive
    • Annual list of cases
    • Communications
    • Publications
    • Case Law of the Boards of Appeal
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Archive
    • Case Law from the Contracting States to the EPC
    • Oral proceedings
  • Service & support
    • Go back
    • Overview
    • Website updates
    • Availability of online services
      • Go back
      • Overview
    • FAQ
      • Go back
      • Overview
    • Publications
    • Ordering
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Terms and conditions
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Patent information products
        • Bulk data sets
        • Open Patent Services (OPS)
        • Fair use charter
    • Procedural communications
    • Useful links
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Patent offices of member states
      • Other patent offices
      • Legal resources
      • Directories of patent attorneys
      • Patent databases, registers and gazettes
      • Disclaimer
    • Contact us
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Filing options
      • Locations
      • Specific contact
      • Surveys
        • Go back
        • Overview
        • Search services
        • Examination services, final actions and publication
        • Opposition services
        • Patent filings
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Detailed methodology
          • Archive
        • Online Services
        • Patent information
          • Go back
          • Overview
          • Innovation process survey
        • Customer services
        • Filing services
        • Website
        • Survey on electronic invoicing
        • Companies innovating in clean and sustainable technologies
    • Subscription centre
      • Go back
      • Overview
      • Subscribe
      • Change preferences
      • Unsubscribe
    • Official holidays
    • Forums
    • Glossary
    • RSS feeds
1995
  1. Home
  2. Legal texts
  3. Official Journal
  4. 1995
  5. 1-2 - January-February
  6. Pages 35-46
Print
Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email

1-2 - January-February

Overview

Pages 35-46

Download PDF 
Citation: OJ EPO 1995, 35
Online publication date: 28.2.1995
BOARDS OF APPEAL
Decisions of the Technical Boards of Appeal

Decision of Technical Board of Appeal 3.4.2 dated 27 January 1994 - T 160/92 - 3.4.2*

(Official text)

Composition of the Board:

Chairman:

E. Turrini

Members:

W.W.G. Hofmann

 

L.C. Mancini

Applicant: The Mead Corporation

Headword: Printing plate/THE MEAD CORPORATION

Article: 54(2), 56, 96(3), 111(1) EPC

Rule: 44(1), 51(3), 68(2) EPC

Keyword: "State of the art - abstract (yes)" - "Application deemed to be withdrawn (no)" - "Reimbursement of appeal fee - substantial procedural violation (no)" - "Inventive step (no)" - "Decision re appeals - remittal (no)" - "Good faith - informal telephone calls"

Headnote

I. The teaching of a prepublished abstract of a Japanese patent document, considered per se without its corresponding original document, forms prima facie part of the prior art and may be legitimately cited as such if nothing on file points to its invalidity as prior art. The party intending to contest the validity as prior art of said teaching on the basis of the original document teaching has the burden of proof (points 2.1 to 2.5 of the reasons).

II. The answer to the controversial question whether the applicant was misled about the possibility of imminent refusal of the application, must be sought by focusing on the procedurally relevant content of the file (points 3.2 to 3.4 of the reasons).

III. A letter of reply to a communication of the examining division filed in due time by the applicant and dealing with substantial points of this communication constitutes a reply within the meaning of Article 96(3) EPC. Therefore, procedurally, it precludes deeming the application withdrawn; the further declaration: "This present letter is not to be treated as a formal response to that communication" is merely contradictory to the facts, the reality of which cannot be made null and void by such an expedient (point 3.5 of the reasons).

Summary of Facts and Submissions

I. The appellant (applicant) lodged an appeal against the decision of the examining division to refuse the application No. 86 308 250.9 (publication No. 0 220 943).

The examining division had expressed the view that the subject-matter of claims 1, 12 and 15 did not involve an inventive step, having regard to the document

(D1) "Patent Abstracts of Japan" vol. 8, No. 80 (M-289) (1517), 12 April 1984.

II. In a communication sent together with summons to oral proceedings, the board cited the further document

(D2) US-A-4 399 209

which is mentioned in the application and had also been mentioned in the European search report.

III. Oral proceedings were held, at the end of which the appellant requested that the decision under appeal be set aside, that - according to a main request - the case be remitted to the first instance on account of procedural violations, and that - according to the first to sixth auxiliary requests - a patent be granted on the basis of the six sets of documents (first to sixth auxiliary requests) filed at the oral proceedings.

IV. The original claims 1, 12 and 15, which are maintained according to the main request, read as follows:

"1. A process for producing a printing plate characterised in that it comprises the steps of: ...

12. Apparatus for producing a printing plate, characterised in that it comprises ...

15. A transfer sheet comprising ..."

Claims 2 to 11 and 13, 14 are respectively dependent on claims 1 and 12.

The claims according to the first auxiliary request differ from those according to the main request only ...

V. The appellant essentially argued as follows:

The search division as well as the examining division did not proceed correctly when they cited D1 which is an abstract of a Japanese patent document, without also citing the Japanese patent document itself (if the citation in the European search report, using the "&"-sign, was meant to include the Japanese patent document, a copy of this document should have been sent to the appellant and the document should have been included in the list of patent family members). The examining division referred to the abstract only. The board of appeal decision T 77/87 (OJ EPO 1990, 280) and the corresponding notification in the Supplement to OJ EPO 1990, 24, make it clear that an abstract may not be regarded as an independent document in isolation. The primary source of disclosure must be the citation, and not the abstract.

Since the examining division only relied on this abstract for denying the inventive step of the claimed subject-matter, their statements are not reasoned.

After the second communication of the examining division, in the course of two telephone calls, the examiner misled the appellant into believing that a further communication (and not a refusal) would be issued. Despite this announcement, the examining division refused the application.

Moreover, the letter of the appellant, dated 19 February 1991, referring to the second communication of the examining division, was not a reply in the sense of Article 96(3) EPC and therefore, after expiry of the time limit set for answering the second communication, the application should have been deemed to be withdrawn, and not refused.

The above remarks point to at least three "serious" procedural violations which justify the remittal of the case to the examining division.

...

Reasons for the Decision

1. The appeal is admissible.

2. Citability of the abstract

2.1 The appellant takes issue with the practice of the search divisions of the European Patent Office of citing published abstracts of articles if the original articles are not available to them, and - as in the present case - of published English abstracts of Japanese patent documents (in both cases citing the original document only for information after an ampersand sign ("&"), eg in order to avoid any possible error in the identification of the abstract, and not sending copies thereof to the applicant). He moreover objects to the fact that the examining division, in the present case, also based its judgment of inventive step of the claimed subject-matter on such an abstract of a Japanese patent document (D1) without introducing the original document and citing specific passages thereof.

2.2 Rule 44(1) EPC prescribes that the European search report shall mention those documents, available to the European Patent Office at the time of drawing up the report, which may be taken into consideration in deciding whether the invention to which the European patent application relates is new and involves an inventive step. Regarding the examination procedure, Rules 51(3) and 68(2) (first sentence) EPC require that the communications pursuant to Article 96, paragraph 2, and the decisions open to appeal shall be reasoned. Such requirement means that, if such objections are made, the cited documents must be suitable to provide reasons for considering the invention as forming part of the state of the art (Art. 54(1) EPC) or as being obvious to a person skilled in the art having regard to the state of the art (Art. 56 EPC). The state of the art shall be held to comprise everything made available to the public - among others by means of a written description - before the date of filing of the European patent application (Art. 54(2) EPC).

2.3 In the present case, the cited abstract (D1) is actually such a prepublished written description, so that any doubts concerning its validity as prior art can only relate to what has been made available to the public. Regarding the question whether citing this abstract (without the original document from which it is taken) is permissible or constitutes a procedural violation, it has to be considered whether or not a statement based on such an abstract alone can be regarded as reasoned in the sense of Rules 51(3) and 68(2) EPC.

In the judgment of the board, the abstract D1 provides a certain amount of technical information and there is no indication for the skilled reader that this information is invalid, which fact renders D1 suitable as a basis for reasons concerning novelty or inventive step. The line of reasoning of the examining division based on D1 is complete and understandable.

Therefore, as judged from the documents on file, the statements and the decision of the examining division, based on the above-mentioned abstract, were reasoned in the sense of Rules 51(3) and 68(2) EPC.

2.4 It lies in the nature of citing and reasoning that the state of the art as a whole cannot be cited, and that search divisions and examining divisions must select, in exercise of their judgment, from those documents which they have available and the content of which they can understand, that portion of the state of the art which appears relevant to them. This can never fully exclude the possibility that there may somewhere exist - and this is not limited to the relationship between abstracts and their original documents alone - more relevant descriptions or even descriptions which would show relevancy of the cited documents in a different light.

2.5 With respect to this possibility, the question of citability of an abstract must be well distinguished from the different question which of the teachings of an abstract and an original document have to be considered by the examining or opposition division if both documents are available to them and contain conflicting teachings. Board of appeal decision T 77/87 (OJ EPO 1990, 280), on which the appellant entirely relies for opposing the citability of abstracts, relates to this latter question.

Likewise, the "notification" also mentioned by the appellant (Supplement to OJ EPO 1990, 24), is actually a short summary of the above decision T 77/87, and the sentence "the disclosure of this abstract document should be interpreted by reference to its original for the purpose of ascertaining the technical reality of what has been disclosed and should not be regarded as an independent document in isolation", referred to by the appellant, must be understood in the context of the case underlying that decision, which context is clearly taken into account in the decision itself.

The decision concerns an appeal after opposition procedure in which the abstract and the corresponding original document had both been made available to the board, and comes to the conclusion that "when, as here, it is clear from related contemporaneously available evidence that the literal disclosure of a document is erroneous and does not represent the intended technical reality, such an erroneous disclosure should not be considered as part of the state of the art" (paragraph 4.1.4 of the reasons).

In the present case, this question did not arise since only abstract D1 is on file and there is no indication that its disclosure might be erroneous, or that its disclosure might otherwise have to be interpreted differently in the light of the disclosure of the original document. Therefore, the literal disclosure of D1 belongs prima facie to the state of the art. The appellant would have had the burden of proof to show that this disclosure was actually not part of the state of the art. The appellant failed to do so.

The teaching of D1 taken alone, therefore, is to be considered as part of the state of the art.

2.6 For these reasons, the board cannot see a procedural violation in the mere facts of citing and reasoning on the basis of an abstract.

3. Main request; substantial procedural violations

3.1 The first point where the appellant sees a substantial procedural violation, ie citation of a non-citable document, has been dealt with above in paragraph 2.

3.2 The appellant claims that in two telephone conversations with the primary examiner he was misled into believing that a refusal was not imminent, as a further communication would be issued as the next step of the procedure.

The appellant submitted affidavits of two employees of the firm of European patent attorneys representing the appellant, in which affidavits they confirm that in the time after the second communication of the examining division they telephoned the primary examiner (first and second telephone call) and were informed by him that a further communication would be issued.

In a note on file giving the "Result of consultation" concerning a (third) telephone call received from the representative of the appellant after the refusal of the application, the primary examiner declares that he never said that a further communication would be issued.

Thus, there are conflicting declarations as to what was said during these first two telephone calls.

3.3 Telephone calls between the examiners of the European Patent Office and the applicants, in some situations, can be a tool for speeding up an otherwise slower procedure. However, one should be warned against expecting too much from them in critical situations, as misunderstandings can happen more easily than in writing, sometimes promoted by the fact that one of the two participants in the conversation might not be fully prepared for dealing with the case. It is with reason that the procedure before the European Patent Office is in principle, with the exception of oral proceedings under Article 116 EPC, a written procedure. Moreover, in the examination (as well as in the opposition) procedure the primary examiner is only one of a division of three examiners, it being well known that his individual statements cannot be binding for the division. Furthermore, telephone conversations are not provided for in the EPC and do not, as such, form part of the formal procedure before the Office.

The board does not deny that the principle of good faith should govern all the actions over procedural matters, even the informal ones, of employees of the European Patent Office towards parties to the proceedings.

However, for setting aside the decision of the examining division to refuse the application, to which aim the request of the appellant is directed in the present case, it would be required that manifestly the rules of procedure as laid down in the EPC had been infringed. Since telephone conversations do not form part of said formal procedure, the board does not consider it necessary to conduct a detailed investigation seeking to clear up what was said in the above-mentioned telephone calls, the sequence of procedurally relevant facts being already clearly established in the file.

3.4 The file shows that the examining division issued two communications in which reasons were given why in their view the subject-matter of claims 1, 12 and 15 lacked an inventive step, having regard to D1, and why D1 could be used as prior art (because its technical information could be understood by the person skilled in the art). The second communication contains an explicit invitation to deal with the objections raised against the inventive step of the claimed subject-matter and ends with the statement that "if the applicant fails to deal with them, the application will be rejected in accordance with Article 97(1) EPC". In his reply, dated 19 February 1991, the appellant again (as in his first response) argued that D1 could not be cited as prior art. He did not otherwise discuss the question of inventive step, nor did he file new claims. In a further letter, dated 1 May 1991, shortly before the end of the time limit set for replying to the second communication of the examining division, the appellant only expressed his wish to obtain a reply from the examining division, and stated that as long as the matter raised in his last letter (citability of D1) was unresolved, the representative was unable to obtain full instructions from his clients. Three months after expiry of the above-mentioned time limit the examining division refused the application.

Whatever the appellant's impression was about the content of the above-mentioned informal telephone calls, he should have realised from the objections raised in the official communications and in particular from the announcement of likely rejection at the end of the second communication that refusal of the application was imminent if his arguments regarding the citability of D1 did not convince the examining division, and that abstaining from discussion of inventive step on the basis of D1 (which discussion he could have undertaken independently of his opinion on the citability of D1) was a risk if his primary argumentation was not accepted. It could not be expected from the examining division that a further communication would be issued on a subject it had already dealt with.

3.5 The appellant further argues that, after expiry of the time limit set on the second communication of the examining division, he would have expected, if not a further communication, then at least to have his application deemed to be withdrawn (Art. 96(3) EPC) instead of a refusal since his letter dated 19 February 1991 was not a response to the communication.

Since, in the view of the board, the letter of 19 February 1991 constitutes a reply in the sense of Article 96(3) EPC, there is no need to discuss the question whether an examining division, in the case that the applicant does not reply, has a right to refuse the application instead of communicating to the applicant that the application is deemed to be withdrawn.

At the beginning, said letter refers "to your communication issued on 30th January 1991 pursuant to Article 96(2) and Rule 51(2) EPC". It deals with the reasoning of the examining division in this communication regarding the citability of D1 as an isolated document, and contains an argumentation why D1 should not be considered as prior art.

It is true that in the first paragraph of this letter is stated that "this present letter is not to be treated as a formal response to that communication", and that the letter fails to deal with the question of inventive step on the basis of D1 as prior art, so that it is not as comprehensive as it could be.

However, an argumentation against the citability as prior art of the only cited document, if successful, would certainly by itself be an effective reply to the objections of the examining division, so that it even cannot be regarded as evidently incomplete. In any case, Article 96(3) EPC does not require "a complete reply", but only "a reply" for avoiding the consequence of having the application deemed to be withdrawn. The objective fact that therefore the letter, according to its content, constitutes a reply to the communication cannot be set aside by a simple request of the appellant not to treat it as such and thus to make it null and void.

Therefore, it was correct not to treat the application as deemed to be withdrawn in the sense of Article 96(3) EPC.

Moreover, the board does not see what the appellant would have expected to gain if the Office had applied Article 96(3) EPC. If the appellant had in mind then to request further processing under Article 121 EPC, this would not have changed the procedural situation except in leading to an extension of the time limit for replying to the communication of the examining division, which extension the appellant could have obtained more easily by requesting it directly (since he was evidently aware of the lapse of this period).

3.6 Since the board does not find any substantial procedural violations, as claimed by the appellant, which might have necessitated the remittal of the case to the first instance (Art. 111(1), second sentence, EPC), the main request is rejected.

4. First auxiliary request

...

9. Since the question of inventive step of the claimed subject-matter has already been examined by the examining division in the knowledge of documents D1 and D2, and since no substantial procedural violation can be found (cf. main request of the appellant), the board sees no reason to remit the case to the examining division (Art. 111(1) EPC).

10. Since none of the requests of the appellant is allowable, the decision to refuse the application has to be confirmed.

Order

For these reasons it is decided that:

The appeal is dismissed.

 

* This is an abridged version of the decision. A copy of the full text in the language of proceedings may be obtained from the EPO Information Desk in Munich on payment of a photocopying fee of DEM 1.30 per page.

Previous
Next
Footer - Service & support
  • Service & support
    • FAQ
    • Contact us
    • Subscription centre
    • Official holidays
    • Publications
    • Procedural communications
    • Ordering
    • Glossary
Footer - More links
  • Jobs & careers
  • Press centre
  • Single Access Portal
  • Procurement
  • Boards of Appeal
SoMe facebook 0
European Patent Office
EPO Jobs
SoMe instagram
EuropeanPatentOffice
SoMe linkedIn
European Patent Office
EPO Jobs
EPO Procurement
SoMe twitter
EPOorg
EPOjobs
SoMe youtube
TheEPO
Footer
  • Legal notice
  • Terms of use
  • Data protection and privacy
  • Accessibility