IMPLEMENTING REGULATIONS
TO THE CONVENTION ON THE GRANT
OF EUROPEAN PATENTS
of 5 October 1973
as last amended by Decision of the Administrative Council of the European Patent Organisation
of 9 December 2004
CONTENTS
PART I
IMPLEMENTING REGULATIONS TO PART I OF THE CONVENTION
Chapter I
Languages of the European Patent Office
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Derogations from the provisions concerning the language of the proceedings in written proceedings |
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Derogations from the provisions concerning the language of the proceedings in oral proceedings |
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(deleted) |
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Language of a European divisional application |
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Certification of translations |
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Time limits and reduction of fees |
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Legal authenticity of the translation of the European patent application |
Chapter II
Organisation of the European Patent Office
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Patent classification |
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Allocation of duties to the departments of the first instance |
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Presidium of the Boards of Appeal |
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Business distribution scheme for the Enlarged Board of Appeal and adoption of its Rules of Procedure |
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Administrative structure of the European Patent Office |
PART II
IMPLEMENTING REGULATIONS TO PART II OF THE CONVENTION
Chapter I
Procedure where the applicant or proprietor is not entitled
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Suspension of proceedings |
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Limitation of the option to withdraw the European patent application |
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Filing of a new European patent application by the person entitled to apply |
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Partial transfer of right by virtue of a final decision |
Chapter II
Mention of the inventor
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Designation of the inventor |
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Publication of the mention of the inventor |
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Rectification of the designation of an inventor |
Chapter III
Registering transfers, licences and other rights
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Registering a transfer |
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Registering of licences and other rights |
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Special indications for the registration of a licence |
Chapter IV
Certification of exhibition
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Certificate of exhibition |
Chapter V
Prior European applications
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Prior application as state of the art |
Chapter VI
Biotechnological inventions
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General and definitions |
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Patentable biotechnological inventions |
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Exceptions to patentability |
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The human body and its elements |
PART III
IMPLEMENTING REGULATIONS TO PART III OF THE CONVENTION
Chapter I
Filing of the European patent application
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General provisions |
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Provisions for European divisional applications |
Chapter II
Provisions governing the application
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Request for grant |
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Content of the description |
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Requirements of European patent applications relating to nucleotide and amino acid sequences |
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Deposit of biological material |
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New deposit of biological material |
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Form and content of claims |
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Unity of invention |
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Claims incurring fees |
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Form of the drawings |
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Form and content of the abstract |
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Prohibited matter |
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General provisions governing the presentation of the application documents |
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Documents filed subsequently |
Chapter III
Renewal fees
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Payment of renewal fees |
Chapter IV
Priority
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Declaration of priority and priority documents |
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Issuing priority documents |
PART IV
IMPLEMENTING REGULATIONS TO PART IV OF THE CONVENTION
Chapter I
Examination by the Receiving Section
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Communication following the examination on filing |
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Examination for certain physical requirements |
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Rectification of deficiencies in the application documents |
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Subsequent identification of the inventor |
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Late-filed or missing drawings |
Chapter II
European search report
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Content of the European search report |
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Extended European search report |
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Incomplete search |
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European search report where the invention lacks unity |
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Definitive content of the abstract |
Chapter III
Publication of the European patent application
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Technical preparations for publication |
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Form of the publication of European patent applications and European search reports |
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Information about publication |
Chapter IV
Examination by the Examining Division
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Examination procedure |
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Grant of the European patent to different applicants |
Chapter V
The European patent specification
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Technical preparations for publication and form of the specification of the European patent |
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Certificate for a European patent |
PART V
IMPLEMENTING REGULATIONS TO PART V OF THE CONVENTION
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Content of the notice of opposition |
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Rejection of the notice of opposition as inadmissible |
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Preparation of the examination of the opposition |
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Amendment of the European patent |
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Examination of opposition |
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Requests for documents |
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Continuation of the opposition proceedings by the European Patent Office of its own motion |
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Transfer of the European patent |
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Documents in opposition proceedings |
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Form of the new specification of the European patent in opposition proceedings |
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New certificate for a European patent |
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Costs |
PART VI
IMPLEMENTING REGULATIONS TO PART VI OF THE CONVENTION
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Content of the notice of appeal |
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Rejection of the appeal as inadmissible |
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Examination of appeals |
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Reimbursement of appeal fees |
PART VII
IMPLEMENTING REGULATIONS TO PART VII OF THE CONVENTION
Chapter I
Decisions and communications of the European Patent Office
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Form of decisions |
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Noting of loss of rights |
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Signature, name, seal |
Chapter II
Oral proceedings and taking of evidence
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Summons to oral proceedings |
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Preparation of oral proceedings |
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Taking of evidence by the European Patent Office |
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Commissioning of experts |
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Costs of taking of evidence |
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Conservation of evidence |
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Minutes of oral proceedings and of taking of evidence |
Chapter III
Notifications
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General provisions on notifications |
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Notification by post |
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Notification by delivery by hand |
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Public notification |
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Notification to representatives |
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Irregularities in the notification |
Chapter IV
Time limits
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Calculation of time limits |
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Duration of time limits |
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Late receipt of documents |
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Extension of time limits |
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Period of grace for payment of fees |
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Period of grace for the filing of the request for examination |
Chapter V
Amendments and corrections
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Amendment of the European patent application |
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Different claims, description and drawings for different States |
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Correction of errors in documents filed with the European Patent Office |
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Correction of errors in decisions |
Chapter VI
Interruption of proceedings
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Interruption of proceedings |
Chapter VII
Waiving of enforced recovery procedures
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Waiving of enforced recovery procedures |
Chapter VIII
Information to the public
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Entries in the Register of European Patents |
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Parts of the file not for inspection |
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Procedures for the inspection of files |
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Communication of information contained in the files |
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Constitution, maintenance and preservation of files |
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Additional publications by the European Patent Office |
Chapter IX
Legal and administrative co-operation
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Communications between the European Patent Office and the authorities of the Contracting States |
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Inspection of files by or via courts or authorities of the Contracting States |
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Procedure for letters rogatory |
Chapter X
Representation
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Appointment of a common representative |
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Authorisations |
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Amendment of the list of professional representatives |
PART VIII
IMPLEMENTING REGULATIONS TO PART VIII OF THE CONVENTION
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Information to the public in the event of conversion |
PART IX
IMPLEMENTING REGULATIONS TO PART X OF THE CONVENTION
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The European Patent Office as a receiving Office |
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The European Patent Office as an International Searching Authority or International Preliminary Examining Authority |
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The national fee |
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The European Patent Office as a designated or elected Office - Requirements for entry into the European phase |
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Consequences of non-fulfilment of certain requirements |
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Amendment of the application |
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Claims incurring fees Consequence of non-payment |
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Examination of certain formal requirements by the European Patent Office |
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Consideration of unity by the European Patent Office |
| Cross-reference list | |
| R. 1 | R. 3 |
| R. 2 | R. 4 |
| R. 4 (elmts) | R. 36(2) |
| R. 5 | R. 5 |
| R. 6 | R. 6 |
| R. 7 | R. 7 |
| R. 8 | R. 8 |
| R. 9 | R. 11 |
| R. 10 | R. 12 |
| R. 11 | R. 13 |
| R. 12 | R. 9 |
| R. 13(1), (2), (3), (5) | R. 14 |
| R. 13(4) | R. 78 |
| R. 14 | R. 15 |
| R. 15(1), (2) | R. 17 |
| R. 15(3) | - |
| R. 16(1), (2) | R. 18 |
| R. 16(3) | R. 78 |
| R. 17 | R. 19 |
| R. 18 | R. 20 |
| R. 19 | R. 21 |
| R. 20 | R. 22 |
| R. 21 | R. 23 |
| R. 22 | R. 24 |
| R. 23 | R. 25 |
| R. 23a | - |
| R. 23b | R. 26 |
| R. 23c | R. 27 |
| R. 23d | R. 28 |
| R. 23e | R. 29 |
| R. 24 | R. 35 |
| R. 25 | R. 36 |
| R. 26 | R. 41 |
| R. 27 | R. 42 |
| R. 27a(1), (4) | R. 30 |
| R. 27a(2), (3) | - |
| R. 28(1), (2) | R. 31 |
| R. 28(4), (5) | R. 32 |
| R. 28(3), (6), (7), (8), (9) | R. 33 |
| R. 28a | R. 34 |
| R. 29 | R. 43 |
| R. 30 | R. 44 |
| R. 31 | R. 45 |
| R. 32 | R. 46 |
| R. 33 | R. 47 |
| R. 34 | R. 48 |
| R. 35 | R. 49 |
| R. 36 | R. 50 |
| R. 37 | R. 51 |
| R. 38(1), (2), (6) | R. 52 |
| R. 38(3), (4), (5) | R. 53 |
| R. 38a | R. 54 |
| R. 39 | R. 55 |
| R. 40 | R. 57 |
| R. 41 | R. 57; R. 58 |
| R. 42 | R. 60 |
| R. 43 | R. 56 |
| R. 44 | R. 61 |
| R. 44a | R. 62 |
| R. 45 | R. 63 |
| R. 46 | R. 64 |
| R. 47 | R. 66 |
| R. 48 | R. 67 |
| R. 49 | R. 68 |
| R. 50 | R. 69 |
| R. 51(1) | R. 70(2) |
| R. 51(2) - (11) | R. 71 |
| R. 52 | R. 72 |
| R. 53 | R. 73 |
| R. 54 | R. 74 |
| R. 55 | R. 76 |
| R. 56 | R. 77 |
| R. 57 | R. 79 |
| R. 57a | R. 80 |
| R. 58(1), (2), (3) | R. 81 |
| R. 58(4), (5), (6), (7), (8) | R. 82 |
| R. 59 | R. 83 |
| R. 60 | R. 84 |
| R. 61 | R. 85 |
| R. 61a | R. 86 |
| R. 62 | R. 87 |
| R. 62a | R. 87 |
| R. 63 | R. 88 |
| R. 64 | R. 99 |
| R. 65 | R. 101 |
| R. 66(1) | R. 100(1) |
| R. 66(2) | R. 102 |
| R. 67 | R. 103 |
| R. 68 | R. 111 |
| R. 69 | R. 112 |
| R. 70 | R. 113 |
| R. 71 | R. 115 |
| R. 71a | R. 116 |
| R. 72(1) | R. 117 |
| R. 72(2) | R. 118 |
| R. 72(3), (4) | R. 119 |
| R. 73 | R. 121 |
| R. 74 | R. 122 |
| R. 75 | R. 123 |
| R. 76 | R. 124 |
| R. 77 | R. 125 |
| R. 78 | R. 126 |
| R. 79 | R. 128 |
| R. 80 | R. 129 |
| R. 81 | R. 130 |
| R. 82 | R. 125(4) |
| R. 83 | R. 131 |
| R. 84 | R. 132 |
| R. 84a | R. 133 |
| R. 85 | R. 134 |
| R. 85a | - |
| R. 85b | - |
| R. 86 | R. 137 |
| R. 87 | R. 138 |
| R. 88 | R. 139 |
| R. 89 | R. 140 |
| R. 90 | R. 142 |
| R. 91 | - |
| R. 92 | R. 143 |
| R. 93 | R. 144 |
| R. 94 | R. 145 |
| R. 95 | R. 146 |
| R. 95a | R. 147 |
| R. 96 | - |
| R. 97 | R. 148 |
| R. 98 | R. 149 |
| R. 99 | R. 150 |
| R. 100 | R. 151 |
| R. 101 | R. 152 |
| R. 102 | R. 154 |
| R. 103 | R. 156 |
| R. 104 | R. 157 |
| R. 105 | R. 158 |
| R. 106 | - |
| R. 107 | R. 159 |
| R. 108 | R. 160 |
| R. 109 | R. 161 |
| R. 110 | R. 162 |
| R. 111 | R. 163 |
| R. 112 | R. 164 |
