INFORMATION FROM THE EPO
Decisions of the President of the EPO
Decision of the President of the European Patent Office dated 1 January 2006 concerning the refund of search fees under Article 10(2) of the Rules relating to Fees1
The President of the European Patent Office, having regard to Article 10(2) of the Rules relating to Fees, has decided as follows:
1. Where the European search report is based on an earlier search report prepared by the Office on
- an application whose priority is claimed, or
- an earlier application within the meaning of Article 76 EPC, or
- an original application within the meaning of Rule 15 EPC,
the refund shall be as follows:
Earlier search | Level of benefit for the subsequent search | Amount of refund in EUR |
|---|---|---|
(1) European search (Art. 78(2) EPC) on an application |
|
|
(a) filed on or after 1 July 2005, |
full |
960.00 |
(b) filed before 1 July 2005 |
full |
690.00 |
(2) International search (Art. 15(1) PCT) |
full |
945.00 |
(3) International-type search (Art. 15(5) PCT) |
full |
945.00 |
(4) Standard search |
full |
690.00 |
(5) search without written opinion on a national application made on behalf of a national office (BE, FR, LU, NL, TR) |
full |
690.00 |
(6) search with written opinion on a national application made on behalf of a national office (FR) |
full |
810.00 |
If the EPO can base its search report wholly on the earlier search, it either refunds in full the fee paid for that search (table cases 1 and 3) or - where that would be inappropriate (table cases 2, 4 and 5) - refunds the European search fee in the amounts applicable hitherto.
If the EPO can base its search partly on the earlier search, it makes a 25% refund in accordance with the same principles.
2. The criteria determining the applicable refund rate (full or partial) and the refund procedure shall be governed by the Notice from the President of the European Patent Office dated 1 July 2005 concerning the criteria for refund of search fees (OJ EPO 2005, 433).
3. This Decision applies to all European patent applications and international patent applications entering the European phase, filed on or after 1 July 2005.
1 Re-publication of the decision of the President dated 1 July 2005 ( OJ EPO 2005, 431) as amended with regard to the refund in the case that the earlier search was a search with written opinion on a French patent application (see table case 6).