5.2.006 If the file number or the certified copy of the application whose priority is claimed is missing, you will be invited to file the missing item(s) within a specified time limit. If you fail to do so, you will lose your priority right (but see points 5.10.008-5.10.010).
5.2.007 If formal examination reveals that parts of the description or drawings referred to in the description or in the claims appear to be missing, the Receiving Section will invite you under Rule 56(1) EPC to file the missing parts within a non-extendable time limit of two months. You can also file any missing parts of the description or drawings of your own motion within two months from the date of
filing. In both cases the date of filing will then be re-dated to the day on which the missing parts are received at the EPO. Please be aware that a change of the date of filing may result in losing your priority right, namely if the newly accorded date of filing lies outside the 12-month priority period (see point 4.1.017).
If you do not file a reply to the invitation under Rule 56(1) EPC, all R. 56(4) references to the missing parts are deemed to be deleted and the original date of filing will be kept.
The original date of filing will be kept if you declare and provide R. 56(3)
evidence within the applicable time limit that the late-filed missing parts of the description or drawings are completely contained in the earlier application whose priority is claimed. To this end, a certified copy of the priority application, unless already available to the EPO, and, if required, its translation into one of the EPO's official languages must be filed. You must furthermore specify where in the priority application the missing parts are contained.
The EPO will inform you of the date of filing accorded once the Receiving Section has taken a decision.
The examining division may review the decision of the Receiving Section.
5.2.008 With regard to the requirements governing documents filed after the filing of the European patent application see points 4.4.0014.4.006 and 5.4.017-5.4.022.
5.2.009 As soon as the initial formal examination is concluded, the Art. 92 European search is initiated. The EPO normally issues the R. 61 European search report within five months of the filing of the GL B application.
The search report serves to provide information on the relevant R. 68(1)
prior art to the applicant, to the examining division and, by means of its publication, to the public.
The search report is drawn up on the basis of the claims, with due GL B-X regard to the description and any drawings. It mentions the priorart documents available to the EPO when it is drawn up which may be taken into consideration in assessing novelty and inventive step.
The search report is accompanied by an opinion on whether the R. 62 application and the invention to which it relates meet the GL B-XI requirements of the EPC.
This opinion will not be issued if you have filed a request for GL B-XI, 7 examination, paid the examination fee and waived your right to receive the communication under Rule 70(2) EPC (see point 5.4.004) before the search report has been communicated to you. In this situation you will receive a first communication from the examining division instead.
The non-binding opinion is not published together with the search Art. 128 report but is available to the public by way of file inspection after R. 62(2) publication of the application.
5.2.010 If the application contains more than one independent claim in the R. 62a same category (see point 4.2.021) and none of the exceptions R. 137(5) listed under Rule 43(2) applies, you will be invited to indicate, GL B-VIII, 4 within a two-month period, the basis on which the search is to be carried out. If you fail to do so, the search will be carried out on the basis of the first independent claim in each category.
Similarly, if it is impossible to carry out a meaningful search on the R. 63 basis of all or some of the subject-matter claimed, you will be GL B-VIII, 3
invited to file, again within a two-month period, a statement indicating the subject-matter to be searched. Should your statement not be sufficient to overcome the deficiency, the EPO will issue a partial search report or a declaration that no meaningful search can be carried out.
You should note that, in response to such an invitation for R. 137(1) clarification, you may not amend the application documents.
When the examining division assumes responsibility, it will invite R. 137(5) you to delete the unsearched subject-matter from the application unless it finds that the objection was unjustified.
5.2.011 Immediately after it has been drawn up, the European search Art. 92
report is transmitted to you together with copies of any cited R. 65 documents. If you require additional copies of the cited GL B-X, 12
documents, you can indicate this in the appropriate box in the request for grant form (refer to section 39 of the request for grant) when filing the application. The request is valid only if the prescribed administrative fee is paid.
After receiving the search report, you may withdraw the application R. 70, 70a if you think it has no chance of success. If you decide to pursue R. 137 the patent grant procedure (see point 5.4.001), you will, in the next GL C-II step, be invited to pay the examination fee, if you have not yet GL A-VI, 2
done so, or to declare that you wish to proceed further with the application. At the same time you are invited to file a reply to any objections raised in the search opinion within the same time limit (see points 5.4.001 et seq.).
5.2.012 If the search division considers that the application does not Art. 82
comply with the requirement of unity of invention (see R. 64 point 4.2.003), it draws up a partial European search report on GL B-VII those parts which relate to the invention first mentioned in the GL F-V, 4
claims. It informs you that, if the search report is to cover the other inventions, you must pay a further search fee in respect of each of them within a non-extendable period of two months.
If you do not respond to this invitation, and if the examining division considers the search division's objection justified, you are deemed to want the application to proceed in respect of the
invention for which the (partial) search report has been drawn up. If you pay further search fees, the European search report is drawn up for those inventions for which further search fees have been paid.
A provisional opinion on the patentability of the invention or unitary group of inventions first mentioned in the claims is provided together with the reasons for any non-unity findings and the invitation to pay further search fees. The provisional opinion is for information only. A reply addressing the points raised in the provisional opinion is not required and is not taken into account when the extended European search report is issued.
The application must not include claims for subject-matter for which a further search fee has not been paid. You may however file divisional applications for such subject-matter (see points 5.8.001-5.8.005).
Any further search fees paid will be refunded on request if it emerges during examination proceedings that the search division's findings concerning lack of unity of invention was not justified.
5.2.013 Upon drawing up the European search report, the search division determines the definitive content of the abstract and transmits it to you together with the search report.
5.3.001 The European patent application is published as soon as possible after the expiry of eighteen months from the date of filing or the earliest priority date. You may however request that it be published earlier.
The publication contains the description, the claims and any drawings, all as filed, plus the abstract. If the European search report is available in time, it is annexed (A1 publication); if not, it is published separately (A3 publication). If the European patent application was not filed in English, French or German, its translation will be published.
All European patent applications, European search reports and European patent specifications are published in electronic form only, on the EPO's publication server. The publication server is accessible via the EPO website (epo.org).
5.3.002 If you amend the claims after receiving the European search report
but before completion of the technical preparations for publication (see point 5.4.018), the amended claims will be published in addition to the claims as filed. The technical preparations are deemed to have been completed five weeks before expiry of the eighteenth month
