EPC - Part III Flashcards
Article 75
Filing of a European patent application
1)A European patent application may be filed:
(a)
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with the European Patent Office, or
(b)
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if the law of a Contracting State so permits, and subject to Article 76, paragraph 1, with the central industrial property office or other competent authority of that State. Any application filed in this way shall have the same effect as if it had been filed on the same date with the European Patent Office.
(2)Paragraph 1 shall not preclude the application of legislative or regulatory provisions which, in any Contracting State:
(a)govern inventions which, owing to the nature of their subject-matter, may not be communicated abroad without the prior authorisation of the competent authorities of that State, or
(b)prescribe that any application is to be filed initially with a national authority, or make direct filing with another authority subject to prior authorisation.
Article 76
European divisional applications
(1)A European divisional application shall be filed directly with the European Patent Office in accordance with the Implementing Regulations. It may be filed only in respect of subject-matter which does not extend beyond the content of the earlier application as filed; in so far as this requirement is complied with, the divisional application shall be deemed to have been filed on the date of filing of the earlier application and shall enjoy any right of priority.
(2)All the Contracting States designated in the earlier application at the time of filing of a European divisional application shall be deemed to be designated in the divisional application.
Article 77
Forwarding of European patent applications
(1)The central industrial property office of a Contracting State shall forward to the European Patent Office any European patent application filed with it or any other competent authority in that State, in accordance with the Implementing Regulations.
(2)A European patent application the subject of which has been made secret shall not be forwarded to the European Patent Office.
(3)A European patent application not forwarded to the European Patent Office in due time shall be deemed to be withdrawn.
Article 78
Requirements of a European patent application
(1)A European patent application shall contain:
(a)a request for the grant of a European patent;
(b)a description of the invention;
(c)one or more claims;
(d)any drawings referred to in the description or the claims;
(e)an abstract,
and satisfy the requirements laid down in the Implementing Regulations.
(2)
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A European patent application shall be subject to the payment of the filing fee and the search fee. If the filing fee or the search fee is not paid in due time, the application shall be deemed to be withdrawn.
Article 79
Designation of Contracting States
(1)All the Contracting States party to this Convention at the time of filing of the European patent application shall be deemed to be designated in the request for grant of a European patent.
(2)
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The designation of a Contracting State may be subject to the payment of a designation fee.
(3)The designation of a Contracting State may be withdrawn at any time up to the grant of the European patent.
Article 80
Date of filing
The date of filing of a European patent application shall be the date on which the requirements laid down in the Implementing Regulations are fulfilled.
Article 81
Designation of the inventor
The European patent application shall designate the inventor. If the applicant is not the inventor or is not the sole inventor, the designation shall contain a statement indicating the origin of the right to the European patent.
Article 82
Unity of invention
The European patent application shall relate to one invention only or to a group of inventions so linked as to form a single general inventive concept.
Article 83
Disclosure of the invention
The European patent application shall disclose the invention in a manner sufficiently clear and complete for it to be carried out by a person skilled in the art.
Article 84
Claims
The claims shall define the matter for which protection is sought. They shall be clear and concise and be supported by the description.
Article 85
Abstract
The abstract shall serve the purpose of technical information only; it may not be taken into account for any other purpose, in particular for interpreting the scope of the protection sought or applying Article 54, paragraph 3.
Article 86
Renewal fees for the European patent application
(1)Renewal fees for the European patent application shall be paid to the European Patent Office in accordance with the Implementing Regulations. These fees shall be due in respect of the third year and each subsequent year, calculated from the date of filing of the application. If a renewal fee is not paid in due time, the application shall be deemed to be withdrawn.
(2)The obligation to pay renewal fees shall terminate with the payment of the renewal fee due in respect of the year in which the mention of the grant of the European patent is published in the European Patent Bulletin.
Article 87
Priority right
(1)Any person who has duly filed, in or for
(a)any State party to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property or
(b)any Member of the World Trade Organization,
an application for a patent, a utility model or a utility certificate, or his successor in title, shall enjoy, for the purpose of filing a European patent application in respect of the same invention, a right of priority during a period of twelve months from the date of filing of the first application.
(2)Every filing that is equivalent to a regular national filing under the national law of the State where it was made or under bilateral or multilateral agreements, including this Convention, shall be recognised as giving rise to a right of priority.
(3)A regular national filing shall mean any filing that is sufficient to establish the date on which the application was filed, whatever the outcome of the application may be.
(4)A subsequent application in respect of the same subject-matter as a previous first application and filed in or for the same State shall be considered as the first application for the purposes of determining priority, provided that, at the date of filing the subsequent application, the previous application has been withdrawn, abandoned or refused, without being open to public inspection and without leaving any rights outstanding, and has not served as a basis for claiming a right of priority. The previous application may not thereafter serve as a basis for claiming a right of priority.
(5)If the first filing has been made with an industrial property authority which is not subject to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property or the Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization, paragraphs 1 to 4 shall apply if that authority, according to a communication issued by the President of the European Patent Office, recognises that a first filing made with the European Patent Office gives rise to a right of priority under conditions and with effects equivalent to those laid down in the Paris Convention.
Article 88
Claiming priority
(1)
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An applicant desiring to take advantage of the priority of a previous application shall file a declaration of priority and any other document required, in accordance with the Implementing Regulations.
(2)Multiple priorities may be claimed in respect of a European patent application, notwithstanding the fact that they originated in different countries. Where appropriate, multiple priorities may be claimed for any one claim. Where multiple priorities are claimed, time limits which run from the date of priority shall run from the earliest date of priority.
(3)If one or more priorities are claimed in respect of a European patent application, the right of priority shall cover only those elements of the European patent application which are included in the application or applications whose priority is claimed.
(4)If certain elements of the invention for which priority is claimed do not appear among the claims formulated in the previous application, priority may nonetheless be granted, provided that the documents of the previous application as a whole specifically disclose such elements.
Article 89
Effect of priority right
The right of priority shall have the effect that the date of priority shall count as the date of filing of the European patent application for the purposes of Article 54, paragraphs 2 and 3, and Article 60, paragraph 2.
