90

Attention is drawn to the field of business methods (see point 67). The EPO as ISA will not carry out an international search on an application to the extent that its subject-matter relates to no more than a method of doing business, in the absence of any apparent technical character. Moreover, claims which merely specify commonplace features relating to the technological implementation of such methods will not be searched if the search examiner cannot establish any technical problem which might potentially have required an inventive step for it to be overcome. In such cases, it is not possible to carry out a meaningful search into the state of the art.