BOARDS OF APPEAL
Information from the Enlarged Board of Appeal
Referrals by the President of the European Patent Office
On 5 October 1998, in accordance with Article 112(1)(b) EPC, the President of the European Patent Office referred the following point of law to the Enlarged Board of Appeal in order to ensure uniform application of the law:
(Language of the proceedings)
1. a) Is the designation of a contracting state party to the EPC in a European patent application of no legal effect and deemed never to have taken place if the relevant designation fee has not been paid within the applicable time limit?
b) If the answer to a) is in the affirmative, does the fact that no designation fees are paid at all mean that the application loses its date of filing?
c) If the answer to a) is in the affirmative, does the fact that a designation fee in respect of a particular contracting state is not paid mean that the application never had the effect provided for in Article 66 EPC in that state?
d) If the answer to a) is in the affirmative, which states can be designated in a divisional application filed before expiry of the time limit for paying the designation fees in the parent application, and what is the effect on the divisional application if subsequently no designation fees are paid at all in the parent application?
2. If the answer to question 1.a) is negative, as from what date does the deemed withdrawal of the designation of a contracting state provided for in Article 91(4) EPC take effect?
The case is pending under Ref. No. G 4/98.