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The European search report is drawn up in respect of a European patent application on the basis of the claims, with due regard to the description and any drawings. [3] In addition, the extent of the protection conferred by a European patent or a European patent application is determined by the claims, with the description and drawings being ...
Article 83 of the European Patent Convention (EPC) [1] relates to the disclosure of the invention under the European Patent Convention.This legal provision prescribes that a European patent application must disclose the invention (which is the subject of the European patent application) in a manner sufficiently clear and complete for it to be carried out by a person skilled in the art.
A regional patent application is one which may have effect in a range of countries. The European Patent Office (EPO) is an example of a regional patent office. The EPO grants patents which can take effect in some or all countries contracting to the European Patent Convention (EPC), following a single application process.
The grant procedure before the European Patent Office (EPO) is an ex parte, administrative procedure, which includes the filing of a European patent application, [1] the examination of formalities, [2] the establishment of a search report, [3] the publication of the application, [4] its substantive examination, [5] and the grant of a patent, [6 ...
The Guidelines for Examination in the European Patent Office (or, for short, the EPO Guidelines) are general instructions, for the examiners working at the European Patent Office (EPO) as well as for the parties interacting with the EPO, [notes 1] on the practice and procedure at the EPO in the various aspects of the prosecution of European patent applications and European patents.
Under the European Patent Convention (EPC), any third party –i.e., essentially any person [notes 1] – may file observations on the patentability of an invention which is the subject of a European patent application or, after grant, subject of a European patent, [notes 2] especially to draw the attention of the European Patent Office (EPO) to some relevant prior art documents. [2]
Like the other parts of the paragraph 2, computer programs are open to patenting to the extent that they provide a technical contribution to the prior art.In the case of computer programs and according to the case law of the Boards of Appeal, a technical contribution typically means a further technical effect that goes beyond the normal physical interaction between the program and the computer.
What has not been changed however is that a divisional application can by no means be filed after grant of a European patent, i.e. based on a European patent. A divisional application can only be filed based on a pending European patent application, provided that the provisions of Rule 36(1) EPC are met.