Preamble
Article 1 – European law for the grant of patents
Article 2 – European patent
Article 3 – Territorial effect
Article 4 – European Patent Organisation
Article 4a – Conference of ministers of the Contracting States
Article 5 – Legal status
Article 6 – Headquarters
Article 7 – Sub-offices of the European Patent Office
Article 8 – Privileges and immunities
Article 9 – Liability
Article 10 – Management
Article 11 – Appointment of senior employees
Article 12 – Duties of office
Article 13 – Disputes between the Organisation and the employees of the European Patent Office
Article 14 – Languages of the European Patent Office, European patent applications and other documents
Article 15 – Departments entrusted with the procedure
Article 16 – Receiving Section
Article 17 – Search Divisions
Article 18 – Examining Divisions
Article 19 – Opposition Divisions
Article 20 – Legal Division
Article 21 – Boards of Appeal
Article 22 – Enlarged Board of Appeal
Article 23 – Independence of the members of the Boards
Article 24 – Exclusion and objection
Article 25 – Technical opinion
Article 26 – Membership
Article 27 – Chairmanship
Article 28 – Board
Article 29 – Meetings
Article 30 – Attendance of observers
Article 31 – Languages of the Administrative Council
Article 32 – Staff, premises and equipment
Article 33 – Competence of the Administrative Council in certain cases
Article 34 – Voting rights
Article 35 – Voting rules
Article 36 – Weighting of votes
Article 37 – Budgetary funding
Article 38 – The Organisation's own resources
Article 39 – Payments by the Contracting States in respect of renewal fees for European patents
Article 40 – Level of fees and payments – Special financial contributions
Article 41 – Advances
Article 42 – Budget
Article 43 – Authorisation for expenditure
Article 44 – Appropriations for unforeseeable expenditure
Article 45 – Accounting period
Article 46 – Preparation and adoption of the budget
Article 47 – Provisional budget
Article 48 – Budget implementation
Article 49 – Auditing of accounts
Article 50 – Financial Regulations
Article 51 – Fees
Article 52 – Patentable inventions
Article 53 – Exceptions to patentability
Article 54 – Novelty
Article 55 – Non-prejudicial disclosures
Article 56 – Inventive step
Article 57 – Industrial application
Article 58 – Entitlement to file a European patent application
Article 59 – Multiple applicants
Article 60 – Right to a European patent
Article 61 – European patent applications filed by non-entitled persons
Article 62 – Right of the inventor to be mentioned
Article 63 – Term of the European patent
Article 64 – Rights conferred by a European patent
Article 65 – Translation of the European patent
Article 66 – Equivalence of European filing with national filing
Article 67 – Rights conferred by a European patent application after publication
Article 68 – Effect of revocation or limitation of the European patent
Article 69 – Extent of protection
Article 70 – Authentic text of a European patent application or European patent
Article 71 – Transfer and constitution of rights
Article 72 – Assignment
Article 73 – Contractual licensing
Article 74 – Law applicable
Article 75 – Filing of a European patent application
Article 76 – European divisional applications
Article 77 – Forwarding of European patent applications
Article 78 – Requirements of a European patent application
Article 79 – Designation of Contracting States
Article 80 – Date of filing
Article 81 – Designation of the inventor
Article 82 – Unity of invention
Article 83 – Disclosure of the invention
Article 84 – Claims
Article 85 – Abstract
Article 86 – Renewal fees for the European patent application
Article 87 – Priority right
Article 88 – Claiming priority
Article 89 – Effect of priority right
Article 90 – Examination on filing and examination as to formal requirements
Article 91 – (deleted)
Article 92 – Drawing up of the European search report
Article 93 – Publication of the European patent application
Article 94 – Examination of the European patent application
Article 95 – (deleted)
Article 96 – (deleted)
Article 97 – Grant or refusal
Article 98 – Publication of the specification of the European patent
Article 99 – Opposition
Article 100 – Grounds for opposition
Article 101 – Examination of the opposition – Revocation or maintenance of the European patent
Article 102 – (deleted)
Article 103 – Publication of a new specification of the European patent
Article 104 – Costs
Article 105 – Intervention of the assumed infringer
Article 105a – Request for limitation or revocation
Article 105b – Limitation or revocation of the European patent
Article 105c – Publication of the amended specification of the European patent
Article 106 – Decisions subject to appeal
Article 107 – Persons entitled to appeal and to be parties to appeal proceedings
Article 108 – Time limit and form
Article 109 – Interlocutory revision
Article 110 – Examination of appeals
Article 111 – Decision in respect of appeals
Article 112 – Decision or opinion of the Enlarged Board of Appeal
Article 112a – Petition for review by the Enlarged Board of Appeal
Article 113 – Right to be heard and basis of decisions
Article 114 – Examination by the European Patent Office of its own motion
Article 115 – Observations by third parties
Article 116 – Oral proceedings
Article 117 – Means and taking of evidence
Article 118 – Unity of the European patent application or European patent
Article 119 – Notification
Article 120 – Time limits
Article 121 – Further processing of the European patent application
Article 122 – Re-establishment of rights
Article 123 – Amendments
Article 124 – Information on prior art
Article 125 – Reference to general principles
Article 126 – (deleted)
Article 127 – European Patent Register
Article 128 – Inspection of files
Article 129 – Periodical publications
Article 130 – Exchange of information
Article 131 – Administrative and legal co-operation
Article 132 – Exchange of publications
Article 133 – General principles of representation
Article 134 – Representation before the European Patent Office
Article 134a – Institute of Professional Representatives before the European Patent Office
Article 135 – Request for conversion
Article 136 – (deleted)
Article 137 – Formal requirements for conversion
Article 138 – Revocation of European patents
Article 139 – Prior rights and rights arising on the same date
Article 140 – National utility models and utility certificates
Article 141 – Renewal fees for European patents
Article 142 – Unitary patents
Article 143 – Special departments of the European Patent Office
Article 144 – Representation before special departments
Article 145 – Select committee of the Administrative Council
Article 146 – Cover for expenditure for carrying out special tasks
Article 147 – Payments in respect of renewal fees for unitary patents
Article 148 – The European patent application as an object of property
Article 149 – Joint designation
Article 149a – Other agreements between the Contracting States
Article 150 – Application of the Patent Cooperation Treaty
Article 151 – The European Patent Office as a receiving Office
Article 152 – The European Patent Office as an International Searching Authority or International Preliminary Examining Authority
Article 153 – The European Patent Office as designated Office or elected Office
Article 154 – (deleted)
Article 155 – (deleted)
Article 156 – (deleted)
Article 157 – (deleted)
Article 158 – (deleted)
Article 159 – (deleted)
Article 160 – (deleted)
Article 161 – (deleted)
Article 162 – (deleted)
Article 163 – (deleted)
Article 164 – Implementing Regulations and Protocols
Article 165 – Signature – Ratification
Article 166 – Accession
Article 167 – (deleted)
Article 168 – Territorial field of application
Article 169 – Entry into force
Article 170 – Initial contribution
Article 171 – Duration of the Convention
Article 172 – Revision
Article 173 – Disputes between Contracting States
Article 174 – Denunciation
Article 175 – Preservation of acquired rights
Article 176 – Financial rights and obligations of former Contracting States
Article 177 – Languages of the Convention
Article 178 – Transmission and notifications
The Implementing Regulations shall specify:
(a)the time limits which are to be observed in proceedings before the European Patent Office and are not fixed by this Convention;
(b)the manner of computation of time limits and the conditions under which time limits may be extended;
(c)the minima and maxima for time limits to be determined by the European Patent Office.
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