4.1.029 If an application is filed by more than one person, the request for grant should designate one of them or a professional representative as the common representative. Otherwise, the applicant named first in the request for grant is deemed to be the common representative. However, if one of the applicants is obliged to appoint a professional representative, the latter is deemed to be the common representative unless the applicant named first in the request for grant has appointed a professional representative.
4.1.030 The particulars of the representative's name and business address
given in the request for grant are recorded in the European Patent Register, published in the European Patent Bulletin and printed in the published European patent application and patent.
4.1.031 Notifications sent by the EPO (communications, notices, decisions and summonses) are addressed:
(a) to the representative recorded in the European Patent Register; or
(b) to you as applicant if you do not appoint a representative, and also if an employee is acting on your behalf.
If you are acting without a professional representative, have several addresses and wish notifications in proceedings before the EPO to be sent to one address while a different address is to be used for publications, the European Patent Register and the patent certificate, you can indicate an address for correspondence in the request for grant (see point 4.1.013), "Address for correspondence" (section 9 of the paper form). The address for correspondence must be your own address and must be located in an EPC contracting state. Post cannot be sent to a different (natural or legal) person, since that requires a valid form of representation under Articles 133 and 134. If you are acting through an employee (Article 133(3)), the address for correspondence still has to be one of your own addresses. To facilitate postal delivery or internal distribution of mail, the address may include a sub-division within a firm, provided it is not a separate legal person.
4.2.001 The European patent application must disclose the invention in a manner sufficiently clear and complete for it to be carried out by a person skilled in the art.
The description and any accompanying drawings form the basis for the claims, which determine the extent of the protection conferred by the European patent. The description and the drawings are also used to interpret the claims.
4.2.002 Once a European patent application has been filed, no amendments extending beyond its content as filed may be made to the description, the claims or the drawings. Hence you are not allowed to add examples or features to the application documents at a later date to remedy deficiencies in the disclosure. Nor are you allowed to extend the subject-matter of the claims, e.g. by omitting certain features, unless there is clear support for such amendment in the application as filed. You must therefore make sure that the claims as filed clearly and accurately identify the invention that you want to protect (see also point 5.4.021).
4.2.003 European patent applications must relate to a single invention
only, or to a group of inventions so linked as to form a single general inventive concept. In the latter case, multiple independent claims in the same category are allowed as long as they comply with Rule 43(2); but the more usual scenario is multiple independent claims in different categories (see point 4.2.021).
4.2.004 The requirements relating to the content of the description, claims, drawings and abstract are set out in Articles 83 to 85 and Rules 42, 43, 47 and 48.
The formal requirements for these documents are defined in Rules 46, 47 and 49; those for documents filed subsequently are in Rule 50.
4.2.005 The following are the main provisions governing the form of
application documents and documents filed subsequently:
(a) The documents making up the European patent application (description, claims, drawings and abstract) must be filed in a single copy. The same applies to documents replacing these original documents.
(b) In the case of paper filings, the documents must be on strong, pliable, white A4 paper (portrait format).
(c) Each document making up the application (request, description, claims, drawings and abstract) must begin on a new sheet.
(d) All the sheets must be numbered in consecutive Arabic numerals, which must be positioned top centre but not in the top margin.
(e) The following minimum margins (type area) must be left blank: top: 2 cm left: 2.5 cm right: 2 cm bottom: 2 cm
(f) The lines of each sheet of the description and the claims should be numbered in sets of five, the numbers appearing on the left side, to the right of the margin.
(g) The line spacing must be 1.5.
(h) The documents must be typed or printed, with a minimum character height of 0.21 cm for capital letters (normally font size 9 or 10).
(i) There must be no handwritten additions to the text. R. 49(12)
The special requirements for drawings are dealt with in the Guidelines for Examination (A-IX).
4.2.006 Annex II gives three examples of how to draft a European patent application.
Description
4.2.007 In the description you must:
(a) Specify the technical field to which the invention relates. You R. 42(1)(a) may do this for example by reproducing the first ("prior art") portion of the independent claims in full or in substance or by simply referring to it.
(b) Indicate the background art of which you are aware, to the R. 42(1)(b) extent that it is useful for understanding the invention, GL F-II, 4.3-4.4
preferably citing source documents reflecting such art. This applies in particular to the background art corresponding to the prior art portion of the independent claims. Source document citations must be sufficiently complete to be verifiable: patent specifications by country and number; books by author, title, publisher, edition, place and year of publication and page numbers; periodicals by title, year, issue and page numbers.
(c) Disclose the invention as claimed. R. 42(1)(c)
The disclosure must indicate the technical problem that the invention is designed to solve (even if it does not state it expressly) and describe the solution.
To elucidate the nature of the solution according to the independent claims you can repeat or refer to the characterising portion of the independent claims or reproduce
the substance of the features of the solution according to the relevant claims.
At this point in the description you need only give details of embodiments of the invention according to the dependent claims if you do not do so when describing ways of performing the claimed invention or describing what the drawings show.
You should state any advantageous effects your invention has compared with the prior art, but without making disparaging remarks about any specific previous product or process.
(d) Briefly describe what is illustrated in any drawings, making sure you give their numbers.
(e) Describe in detail at least one way of carrying out the claimed invention, typically using examples and referring to any drawings and the reference signs used in them.
(f) Indicate how the invention is susceptible of industrial application within the meaning of Article 57.
4.2.008 In exceptional cases you may arrange the description in a different manner and order if this affords a better understanding or a more economic presentation.
4.2.009 Although the description must be clear and straightforward and avoid unnecessary technical jargon, the use of recognised terms of art is acceptable and often desirable. Little known or specially formulated technical terms may be allowed provided that they are adequately defined and that there are no generally recognised equivalents.
You may use proper names or similar words to refer to a product only if they uniquely identify it. Even then, however, the product must be sufficiently identified, without reliance upon such terms, to enable the invention to be carried out by the skilled person. If such proper names or similar words are registered trade marks, that fact should be mentioned.
