The Guidelines for Examination in the European Patent Office (or, for short, the EPO Guidelines) are general instructions, for the

examiner Examiner or The Examiner may refer to: Occupations * Bank examiner, a kind of auditor * Examiner (Roman Catholicism), a type of office in the Roman Catholic Church * Examinership, a concept in Irish law * Medical examiner * Patent examiner * Tr ...

s working at the

European Patent Office The European Patent Office (EPO) is one of the two organs of the European Patent Organisation (EPOrg), the other being the Administrative Council. The EPO acts as executive body for the organisation

(EPO) as well as for the parties interacting with the EPO, on the practice and procedure at the EPO in the various aspects of the prosecution of

European patent application The European Patent Convention (EPC), also known as the Convention on the Grant of European Patents of 5 October 1973, is a multilateral treaty instituting the European Patent Organisation and providing an autonomous legal system according to ...

s and

European patent The European Patent Convention (EPC), also known as the Convention on the Grant of European Patents of 5 October 1973, is a multilateral treaty instituting the European Patent Organisation and providing an autonomous legal system according to ...

s. The Guidelines have been adopted, effective as at 1 June 1978, by the President of the EPO in accordance with .

Structure

Since June 2012, the Guidelines comprise eight parts, relating respectively to the formalities examination (Part A), the

search Searching or search may refer to: Computing technology * Search algorithm, including keyword search ** :Search algorithms * Search and optimization for problem solving in artificial intelligence * Search engine technology, software for find ...

(Part B), the procedural aspects of substantive examination (Part C), the

opposition Opposition may refer to: Arts and media * ''Opposition'' (Altars EP), 2011 EP by Christian metalcore band Altars * The Opposition (band), a London post-punk band * '' The Opposition with Jordan Klepper'', a late-night television series on Com ...

and limitation/revocation procedures (Part D), general procedural matters (Part E), the European patent application (Part F), patentability (Part G), and the

amendments An amendment is a formal or official change made to a law, contract, constitution, or other legal document. It is based on the verb to amend, which means to change for better. Amendments can add, remove, or update parts of these agreements. The ...

and corrections (Part H).

Revisions

The Guidelines are revised annually. Until 2019, the revised editions of the Guidelines were published annually on 1 November. No revised edition of the Guidelines was published in 2020, and, since then, the revised editions are published annually at the beginning of March.

Legal status

According to several decisions of the

Boards of Appeal of the EPO The European Patent Convention (EPC), the multilateral treaty instituting the legal system according to which European patents are granted, contains provisions allowing a party to appeal a decision issued by a first instance department of the Eu ...

, the Guidelines are only general instructions intended to cover normal occurrences. An Examining Division, for example, can depart from them provided it acts in accordance with the

European Patent Convention The European Patent Convention (EPC), also known as the Convention on the Grant of European Patents of 5 October 1973, is a multilateral treaty instituting the European Patent Organisation and providing an autonomous legal system according to ...

(EPC). "It normally desirable for examining divisions to act in accordance with the Guidelines, but (...) these e not rules of law, so failure to follow a procedure set out in them not in itself a

substantial procedural violation The European Patent Convention (EPC), the multilateral treaty instituting the legal system according to which European patents are granted, contains provisions allowing a party to appeal a decision issued by a first instance department of the Eu ...

".: "Guidelines binding (in principle) on departments of first instance". Nevertheless, the users of the European patent system may reasonably expect, in accordance with the established "principle of the protection of

legitimate expectations The doctrine of legitimate expectation was first developed in English law as a ground of judicial review in administrative law to protect a procedural or substantive interest when a public authority rescinds from a representation made to a per ...

" (also referred to as "principle of

good faith In human interactions, good faith ( la, bona fides) is a sincere intention to be fair, open, and honest, regardless of the outcome of the interaction. Some Latin phrases have lost their literal meaning over centuries, but that is not the case ...

"), that the Guidelines will be followed by the departments of first instance of the EPO.Decision T 1607/08 of 13 June 2012
Reasons 2 to 2.2. It is also settled case law that the Guidelines are not binding on the Boards of Appeal.: "Guidelines not binding on boards" This is "an important factor in the judicial independence of the boards of appeal" ().

PCT-EPO Guidelines

Since 2015, separate guidelines, namely the "Guidelines for Search and Examination at the EPO as PCT authority", or "PCT-EPO Guidelines", are available to cover "the practice and procedure to be followed in various aspects of the handling of

international applications The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) is an international patent law treaty, concluded in 1970. It provides a unified procedure for filing patent applications to protect inventions in each of its contracting states. A patent application filed und ...

before the EPO as

International Searching Authority The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) is an international patent law treaty, concluded in 1970. It provides a unified procedure for filing patent applications to protect inventions in each of its contracting states. A patent application filed und ...

and

International Preliminary Examining Authority The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) is an international patent law treaty, concluded in 1970. It provides a unified procedure for filing patent applications to protect inventions in each of its contracting states. A patent application filed und ...

." These Guidelines entered into force on 1 November 2015.

Notes

References

External links

Guidelines for Examination in the European Patent Office (March 2022 edition)
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* : "Guidelines for Examination in the European Patent Office" {{European Patent Organisation European Patent Organisation Works about patent law