Article 59

BOARDS OF APPEAL

Communication from the Enlarged Board of Appeal concerning case G 1/25

In accordance with Article 112(1)(a) EPC, Technical Board of Appeal 3.3.02 has referred the following points of law to the Enlarged Board of Appeal by interlocutory decision of 29 July 2025 in case T 0697/22:

1. If the claims of a European patent are amended during opposition proceedings or opposition-appeal proceedings, and the amendment introduces an inconsistency between the amended claims and the description of the patent, is it necessary, to comply with the requirements of the EPC, to adapt the description to the amended claims so as to remove the inconsistency?

2. If the first question is answered in the affirmative, which requirement(s) of the EPC necessitate(s) such an adaptation?

3. Would the answer to questions 1 and 2 be different if the claims of a European patent application are amended during examination proceedings or examination-appeal proceedings, and the amendment introduces an inconsistency between the amended claims and the description of the patent application?

The text of the referral in English is available on the EPO website under epo.org/en/boards-of-appeal/decisions/t220697ex1

The Enlarged Board of Appeal considering the referral G 1/25 will be composed as follows: C. Josefsson (Chair), I. Beckedorf, D.  Rogers, R. Arnold, E. Chatzikos, G. Pricolo, R. Bekkering.

Third parties are hereby given the opportunity to file written statements in accordance with Article 10 of the Rules of Procedure of the Enlarged Board of Appeal (OJ EPO 2015, A35) in one of the official languages of the EPO (English, French or German).

To ensure that any such statements can be given due consideration, they should be filed by 30 January 2026 with the Registry of the Enlarged Board of Appeal, quoting case number G 1/25, and should be marked for the attention of Mr Nicolas Michaleczek ([email protected]).