Rule 1 – Written proceedings
Rule 2 – Filing of and formal requirements for documents
Rule 3 – Language in written proceedings
Rule 4 – Language in oral proceedings
Rule 5 – Certification of translations
Rule 6 – Filing of translations and reduction of fees
Rule 7 – Legal authenticity of the translation of the European patent application
Rule 8 – Patent classification
Rule 9 – Administrative structure of the European Patent Office
Rule 10 – Responsibility of the Receiving Section and the Examining Division
Rule 11 – Allocation of duties to the departments of first instance
Rule 12 – (deleted)
Rule 12a – Organisation and management of the Boards of Appeal Unit and President of the Boards of Appeal
Rule 12b – Presidium of the Boards of Appeal and business distribution scheme for the Boards of Appeal
Rule 12c – Boards of Appeal Committee and procedure for adoption of the Rules of Procedure of the Boards of Appeal and of the Enlarged Board of Appeal
Rule 13 – Appointment and re-appointment of the members, including the Chairmen, of the Boards of Appeal and of the Enlarged Board of Appeal
Rule 14 – Stay of proceedings
Rule 15 – Limitation on withdrawals
Rule 16 – Procedure under Article 61, paragraph 1
Rule 17 – Filing of a new European patent application by the entitled person
Rule 18 – Partial transfer of the right to the European patent
Rule 19 – Designation of the inventor
Rule 20 – Publication of the mention of the inventor
Rule 21 – Rectification of the designation of an inventor
Rule 22 – Registration of transfers
Rule 23 – Registration of licences and other rights
Rule 24 – Special entries for licence registrations
Rule 25 – Certificate of exhibition
Rule 26 – General and definitions
Rule 27 – Patentable biotechnological inventions
Rule 28 – Exceptions to patentability
Rule 29 – The human body and its elements
Rule 30 – Requirements of European patent applications relating to nucleotide and amino acid sequences
Rule 31 – Deposit of biological material
Rule 32 – Expert solution
Rule 33 – Availability of biological material
Rule 34 – New deposit of biological material
Rule 35 – General provisions
Rule 36 – European divisional applications
Rule 37 – Forwarding of European patent applications
Rule 38 – Filing fee and search fee
Rule 39 – Designation fees
Rule 40 – Date of filing
Rule 41 – Request for grant
Rule 42 – Content of the description
Rule 43 – Form and content of claims
Rule 44 – Unity of invention
Rule 45 – Claims incurring fees
Rule 46 – (deleted)
Rule 47 – Form and content of the abstract
Rule 48 – Prohibited matter
Rule 49 – Presentation of the application documents
Rule 50 – Documents filed subsequently
Rule 51 – Payment of renewal fees
Rule 52 – Declaration of priority
Rule 53 – Priority documents
Rule 54 – Issuing priority documents
Rule 55 – Examination on filing
Rule 56 – Missing parts of the description or missing drawings
Rule 56a – Erroneously filed application documents or parts
Rule 57 – Examination as to formal requirements
Rule 58 – Correction of deficiencies in the application documents
Rule 59 – Deficiencies in claiming priority
Rule 60 – Subsequent designation of the inventor
Rule 61 – Content of the European search report
Rule 62 – Extended European search report
Rule 62a – Applications containing a plurality of independent claims
Rule 63 – Incomplete search
Rule 64 – European search report where the invention lacks unity
Rule 65 – Transmittal of the European search report
Rule 66 – Definitive content of the abstract
Rule 67 – Technical preparations for publication
Rule 68 – Form of the publication of European patent applications and European search reports
Rule 69 – Information about publication
Rule 70 – Request for examination
Rule 70a – Response to the extended European search report
Rule 70b – Request for a copy of search results
Rule 71 – Examination procedure
Rule 71a – Conclusion of the grant procedure
Rule 72 – Grant of the European patent to different applicants
Rule 73 – Content and form of the specification
Rule 74 – Certificate for a European patent
Rule 75 – Surrender or lapse of the patent
Rule 76 – Form and content of the opposition
Rule 77 – Rejection of the opposition as inadmissible
Rule 78 – Procedure where the proprietor of the patent is not entitled
Rule 79 – Preparation of the examination of the opposition
Rule 80 – Amendment of the European patent
Rule 81 – Examination of opposition
Rule 82 – Maintenance of the European patent in amended form
Rule 83 – Request for documents
Rule 84 – Continuation of the opposition proceedings by the European Patent Office of its own motion
Rule 85 – Transfer of the European patent
Rule 86 – Documents in opposition proceedings
Rule 87 – Content and form of the new specification of the European patent
Rule 88 – Costs
Rule 89 – Intervention of the assumed infringer
Rule 90 – Subject of proceedings
Rule 91 – Responsibility for proceedings
Rule 92 – Requirements of the request
Rule 93 – Precedence of opposition proceedings
Rule 94 – Rejection of the request as inadmissible
Rule 95 – Decision on the request
Rule 96 – Content and form of the amended European patent specification
Rule 97 – Appeal against apportionment and fixing of costs
Rule 98 – Surrender or lapse of the patent
Rule 99 – Content of the notice of appeal and the statement of grounds
Rule 100 – Examination of appeals
Rule 101 – Rejection of the appeal as inadmissible
Rule 102 – Form of decision of the Board of Appeal
Rule 103 – Reimbursement of appeal fees
Rule 104 – Further fundamental procedural defects
Rule 105 – Criminal acts
Rule 106 – Obligation to raise objections
Rule 107 – Contents of the petition for review
Rule 108 – Examination of the petition
Rule 109 – Procedure in dealing with petitions for review
Rule 110 – Reimbursement of the fee for petitions for review
Rule 111 – Form of decisions
Rule 112 – Noting of loss of rights
Rule 113 – Signature, name, seal
Rule 114 – Observations by third parties
Rule 115 – Summons to oral proceedings
Rule 116 – Preparation of oral proceedings
Rule 117 – Decision on taking of evidence
Rule 118 – Summons to give evidence before the European Patent Office
Rule 119 – Examination of evidence before the European Patent Office
Rule 120 – Hearing by a competent national court
Rule 121 – Commissioning of experts
Rule 122 – Costs of taking of evidence
Rule 123 – Conservation of evidence
Rule 124 – Minutes of oral proceedings and of taking of evidence
Rule 125 – General provisions
Rule 126 – Notification by postal services
Rule 127 – Notification by means of electronic communication
Rule 128 – Notification by delivery by hand
Rule 129 – Public notification
Rule 130 – Notification to representatives
Rule 131 – Calculation of periods
Rule 132 – Periods specified by the European Patent Office
Rule 133 – Late receipt of documents
Rule 134 – Extension of periods
Rule 135 – Further processing
Rule 136 – Re-establishment of rights
Rule 137 – Amendment of the European patent application
Rule 138 – Different claims, description and drawings for different States
Rule 139 – Correction of errors in documents filed with the European Patent Office
Rule 140 – Correction of errors in decisions
Rule 141 – Information on prior art
Rule 142 – Interruption of proceedings
Rule 143 – Entries in the European Patent Register
Rule 144 – Parts of the file excluded from inspection
Rule 145 – Procedures for the inspection of files
Rule 146 – Communication of information contained in the files
Rule 147 – Constitution, maintenance and preservation of files
Rule 148 – Communications between the European Patent Office and the authorities of the Contracting States
Rule 149 – Inspection of files by or via courts or authorities of the Contracting States
Rule 150 – Procedure for letters rogatory
Rule 151 – Appointment of a common representative
Rule 152 – Authorisations
Rule 153 – Attorney-client evidentiary privilege
Rule 154 – Amendment of the list of professional representatives
Rule 155 – Filing and transmission of the request for conversion
Rule 156 – Information to the public in the event of conversion
Rule 158 – The European Patent Office as an International Searching Authority or International Preliminary Examining Authority
Rule 159 – The European Patent Office as a designated or elected Office – Requirements for entry into the European phase
Rule 162 – Claims incurring fees
Rule 163 – Examination of certain formal requirements by the European Patent Office
Rule 164 – Unity of invention and further searches
Rule 165 – The Euro-PCT application as conflicting application under Article 54, paragraph 3
(1)Any decisions, summonses, notices and communications from the European Patent Office shall be signed by, and state the name of, the employee responsible.
(2)Where a document referred to in Paragraph 1 is produced by the employee responsible using a computer, a seal may replace the signature. Where the document is produced automatically by a computer, the employee’s name may also be dispensed with. The same shall apply to pre-printed notices and communications.
Try Our Interactive EP Register Lookup
Insert the 8 digits of any EP application No.