The search report is sent to the applicant and transmitted to the Examining Division. In both cases, the report must be accompanied by copies of all documents cited (see also IV, 3.3), except those documents appearing in the search report after the "&" symbol, which are not designated for copying and communication to the applicant (see X, 11.3).

These cited documents are used to assess the patentability of the claimed invention (see XII, 3) both in the search opinion (if applicable, see XII, 8) and in the examination procedure.