Once the Examining Division has decided that a patent can be granted it must inform the applicant of the text on the basis of which it intends to do so. This text may include amendments and corrections made by the Examining Division on its own initiative which it can reasonably expect the applicant to accept.

The text is communicated to the applicant by despatching a communication under Rule 51(4), in which the applicant is furthermore invited to pay the fees for grant and printing and to file a translation of the claims in the two official languages of the EPO other than the language of the proceedings within a specified period (currently four months), which is non-extendable.

If during examination proceedings a main and subsidiary requests have been filed (see 4.1 and E-X, 3) and one of the requests is allowable, the communication pursuant to Rule 51(4) is to be issued on the basis of the (first) allowable request and must be accompanied by an explanation of the reasons why the higher-ranking requests are not allowable (see also Legal Advice No. 15/05 (rev. 2), OJ 6/2005, 357).

If the application contains different sets of claims for particular Contracting States (see III, 8), a translation of all the sets of claims must be filed.

Only one copy of the translation need be filed.

The examiner should not concern himself with the quality of the translation filed.

In the communication under Rule 51(4), the applicant is also requested to file within the above-mentioned period either the translation of the application(s) of which priority is claimed, as required by Art. 88(1), or the declaration as provided for in Rule 38(5), if he has not yet done so.

If the text of the European patent application serving as the basis for grant contains more than ten claims, the Examining Division requests the applicant to pay, within the period under Rule 51(4), claims fees in respect of each claim over and above that number, unless he has already done so under Rule 31(1) or Rule 110(1) and (2). Where there is more than one set of claims, fees are incurred under Rule 31(1), Rule 110(1) and (2) or Rule 51(7) only for the set with the greatest number of claims.

In the communication under Rule 51(4), the applicant is asked whether he requests a paper copy of the patent specification to be supplied to him with the certificate for the European patent. This paper copy of the specification is supplied free of charge on request. For further details
see 15.10.

An annex to the communication under Rule 51(4) states the Contracting States which have been validly designated, the title of the invention in the three EPO official languages, the international patent classification and the registered name of the applicant.

The communication under Rule 51(4) also indicates which designated States, if any, require a translation of a European patent which is not in one of their official languages.