INFORMATION FROM THE EPO
Decisions of the President of the EPO
Decision of the President of the European Patent Office dated 9 December 2010 exempting applicants claiming the priority of a first filing made in Japan, the United Kingdom or the United States of America from filing a copy of the search results under Rule 141(1) EPC – utilisation scheme123
The President of the European Patent Office, having regard to Rules 141(1) and (2) and 70b(1) and (2) of the European Patent Convention (EPC), has decided as follows:
Article 1
Exemption under Rule 141(2) EPC from filing a copy of the search results
The European Patent Office shall include in the file of a European patent application a copy of the search results referred to in Rule 141(1) EPC, thus exempting the applicant from filing said copy, where the priority of a first filing made in one of the following states is claimed:
- Japan
- United Kingdom
- United States of America
Article 2
Entry into force
This decision shall enter into force on 1 January 2011 and shall apply to European patent applications and international applications filed on or after that date.
Done at Munich, 9 December 2010
Benoît BATTISTELLI
President
1 See notice from the European Patent Office dated 28 July 2010 concerning amended Rule 141 EPC and new Rule 70b EPC – utilisation scheme, OJ EPO 2010, 410.
2 See also decision of the President of the European Patent Office dated 5 October 2010 on the filing of copies of search results under Rule 141(1) EPC – utilisation scheme, OJ EPO 2010, 600.
3 See notice from the European Patent Office dated 9 December 2010 concerning exemption under Rule 141(2) EPC from filing a copy of the search results – utilisation scheme, OJ EPO 2011, 64.