The "Guide
for applicants" aims to provide
companies, inventors and their
representatives with an outline
of the procedure for granting European
patents, offering practical advice
to smooth the way to a European
patent.
This Guide cannot go into all
the details, issues and ramifications
of the European patent grant procedure,
and it does not constitute an official
commentary on the European
Patent Convention.
If you need
more detailed information, you
are advised to consult the "Guidelines
for Examination in the European
Patent Office", a comprehensive
guide to every stage of the grant
procedure and to EPO practice.
- Part
1 of
the Guide has been thoroughly
revised and expanded (April
2004). It describes and explains
the direct route to a European
patent and the associated procedures.
The Guide can be downloaded
in all three languages as a
PDF-file.
- Part
2 of
the EPO Guide for Applicants
is aimed at applicants interested
in pursuing the procedure under
the PCT and focuses on those
elements specific to the PCT
procedure before the EPO.
This part of the Guide is referred
to as EPO PCT Guide to distinguish
it from the PCT Applicant's
Guide published by WIPO (WIPO
PCT Guide), which is available
on the WIPO
web-site.
The EPO PCT Guide aims to cover all the points to note when the EPO acts in its
capacity as:
- a receiving Office,
- an International Searching
Authority and International
Preliminary Examining Authority,
and/or
- a designated or an elected
Office.
Annex II shows the different phases (see also Annex III).
As from 1 January 2004 the procedures under the PCT have undergone major changes
as a consequence of amendments to the Regulations under the PCT ("PCT
Rules"), which are covered by the term Enhanced International Preliminary
Search and Examination System (“EISPE system”). It should be noted
that the new procedures apply in general only to international applications
filed on or after 1 January 2004. Unless indicated otherwise, the EPO PCT Guide
applies only to the procedures in force from 1 January 2004.
It can be downloaded
as a PDF-file.
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