What are the formal requirements for filing an adapted description?

Amendments should be carried out based on the B-publication of the patent (Guidelines D-IV, 5.3). Proprietors are encouraged to file amendments in one of the following ways:

• Submit entire replacement paragraphs of the B-publication (i.e. file a document containing only those entire paragraphs of the B-publication with the amendments and include the respective paragraph numbers used in the B-publication) and request replacement of the corresponding B-publication paragraphs. For example, the paragraphs to be changed can be copied from the B-publication to a new document and the amendments made with track changes turned on. You do not need to file a printout of the B-publication in which the amended paragraphs are deleted by strikethrough.

or

• Make minor amendments (e.g. strikethrough and/or addition of a word or sentence) to the B-publication and file only the pages of the B-publication that have changed. In this case, please make it clear that you are only submitting the paragraphs of the B publication containing amendments (so that only the amended sections have to be checked and not entire pages – see below).

The heading of a paragraph in the description is part of the paragraph, even if the paragraph number is printed after the heading. In the following example, if the heading "Cellular model" is amended, the amendment relates to paragraph 91.

The B-publication is available in XML and PDF formats on the European Publication Server, and in PDF format in the European Patent Register.

Do not file completely retyped descriptions as it is normally not possible during the oral proceedings to check these against the granted description. For reasons of procedural economy, the division may not admit such requests (Guidelines H-III, 2.3).

For other formal requirements, see the decision of the President of the European Patent Office dated 13 May 2020 (OJ EPO 2020, A71).