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R.64 EPC European search report where the invention lacks unity

If the European Patent Office considers that the European patent application does not comply with the requirement of unity of invention, it shall draw up a partial search report on those parts of the application which relate to the invention, or the group of inventions within the meaning of Article 82, first mentioned in the claims. It shall inform the applicant that, for the European search report to cover the other inventions, a further search fee must be paid, in respect of each invention involved, within a period of two months. The European search report shall be drawn up for the parts of the application relating to inventions in respect of which search fees have been paid.

Any fee paid under paragraph 1 shall be refunded if, during the examination of the European patent application, the applicant requests a refund and the Examining Division finds that the communication under paragraph 1 was not justified.

[ Art. 92 R. 65 164 ]

See opinion of the Enlarged Board of Appeal G 2/92 (Annex I).

Amended by decision of the Administrative Council CA/D 3/09 of 25.03.2009 (OJ EPO 2009, 299), which entered into force on 01.04.2010.

See decision of the Enlarged Board of Appeal G 1/11 (Annex I).

Source: http://www.epo.org/law-practice/legal-texts/html/epc/2016/e/r64.html

Date retrieved: 17 May 2021

76 references found.

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EPC Articles

X A.82 EPC Unity of invention

X A.92 EPC Drawing up of the European search report

EPC Implementing Rules

X Chapter II European search report

X R.65 EPC Transmittal of the European search report

X R.135 EPC Further processing

X R.164 EPC Unity of invention and further searches

EPC Rules relating to Fees

X A. 2 Rfees EPC Fees provided for in the Convention and in the Implementing Regulations

EPO Guidelines - A Formalities Examination

X GL A IV 1.4.1 Filing, search and designation fee(s)

X GL A X 10.2.2 Refund of the further search fee

EPO Guidelines - B Search

X GL B I 2 Search division

X GL B II 4.2 Additional European searches

X GL B III 3.12 Lack of unity

X GL B VII 1.1 Partial European search report

X GL B VII 1.2 Invitation to pay further search fees

X GL B VII 1.2.1 General

X GL B VII 2.1 Request for refund of further search fee(s)

X GL B VII 2.3 Supplementary European search

X GL B VIII 3.4 Applications to which Rule 63 applies which also lack unity

X GL B VIII 4.1 Invitation to indicate which independent claim to search

X GL B VIII 4.5 Applications to which Rule 62a applies which also lack unity

X GL B X 1 General

X GL B X 8 Restriction of the subject of the search

X GL B XI 5 Unity in relation to the search opinion

EPO Guidelines - C Procedureal Aspects of Substantive Examination

X GL C III 3.1.1 No additional search fees paid

X GL C III 3.1.3 Invitation to pay additional search fees combined with invitation to restrict the scope of the search

X GL C III 3.3 Refund of additional search fees

EPO Guidelines - E General Procedural Matters

X GL E II 1.1 General remarks

X GL E VIII 2 Further processing

X GL E VIII 4.1 Accelerated search

EPO Guidelines - F The European Patent Application

X GL F IV 4.3 Inconsistencies

X GL F V 1 Introduction

X GL F V 3.4 Determination of the invention first mentioned in the claims

X GL F V 4 Procedure in the case of lack of unity during search

EPO Guidelines - H Amendments and Corrections

X GL H II 6.2 Subject-matter taken from the description

X GL H II 7.2 Restriction to an unsearched invention

X GL H II 7.3 No restriction to a single invention searched

Offical Journal of the EPO

X OJ EPO SE 2/2021, p19 - II. PATENT APPLICATION AND AMENDMENTS

X OJ EPO SE 3/2020, p1 - Rules relating to Fees of 20 October 1977 as adopted by decision of the Administrative Council of the European Patent Organisation of 7 December 2006 and as last amended by decision of the Administrative Council of [..]

X OJ EPO 2020, A33 - Guidance for the payment of fees, expenses and prices applicable as from 1 April 2020 [ 1 ]

X OJ EPO 2020, A30 - Notice from the European Patent Office dated 20 March 2020 concerning search and examination fees

X OJ EPO 2020, A3 - Decision of the Administrative Council of 12 December 2019 amending Articles 2 and 7 of the Rules relating to Fees ( CA/D 12/19 )

X OJ EPO SE 4/2019, p32 - Annex A.2 to the ADA - Information from the EPO concerning the automatic debiting procedure

X OJ EPO SE 4/2019, p2 - Notice from the European Patent Office dated 20 August 2019 concerning revision of the Arrangements for deposit accounts and their annexes

X OJ EPO SE 3/2019, p1 - Rules relating to Fees of 20 October 1977 as adopted by decision of the Administrative Council of the European Patent Organisation of 7 December 2006 and as last amended by decision of the Administrative Council of [..]

X OJ EPO 2019, A29 - Guidance for the payment of fees, expenses and prices applicable as from 1 April 2019 [ 1 ]

X OJ EPO SE 2/2018, p1 - Rules relating to Fees of 20 October 1977 as adopted by decision of the Administrative Council of the European Patent Organisation of 7 December 2006 and as last amended by decision of the Administrative Council of [..]

X OJ EPO 2018, A32 - Guidance for the payment of fees, expenses and prices applicable as from 1 April 2018 [ 1 ]

X OJ EPO 2018, A26 - Notice from the European Patent Office dated 22 March 2018 concerning search and examination fees

X OJ EPO SE 5/2017, p43 - Annex A.2 to the ADA - Information from the EPO concerning the automatic debiting procedure

X OJ EPO SE 5/2017, p22 - Annex A.1 to the ADA - Arrangements for the automatic debiting procedure (AAD) [ 1 ]

X OJ EPO 2017, A20 - Notice from the European Patent Office dated 3 March 2017 concerning issuing a provisional opinion accompanying the partial search results

X OJ EPO 2012, 588 - Interlocutory decision of Technical Board of Appeal 3.3.07 dated 30 January 2012 T 445/08 3.3.07

X OJ EPO 2012, 276 - Decision of the Legal Board of Appeal dated 1 August 2011 J 21/09 3.1.01

X OJ EPO 2012, 212 - Notice from the European Patent Office dated 6 February 2012 concerning search and examination fees

X OJ EPO 2010, 133 - Notice from the European Patent Office dated 8 February 2010 concerning search and examination fees

X OJ EPO 2009, 533 - Notice from the European Patent Office dated 15 October 2009 concerning amendments to the Implementing Regulations to the European Patent Convention (EPC)

X OJ EPO 2009, 299 - Decision of the Administrative Council of 25 March 2009 amending the Implementing Regulations to the European Patent Convention (CA/D 3/09)

X OJ EPO 2009, 3-suppl - ARRANGEMENTS FOR DEPOSIT ACCOUNTS (ADA) AND THEIR ANNEXES

X OJ EPO 2008, 567 - Decisions of the boards of appeal

X OJ EPO 2008, 430 - Decisions of the Boards of Appeal

X OJ EPO 2008, 130 - Notice from the European Patent Office dated 11 February 2008 concerning search and examination fees

Case Law Book: II Conditions to be met by an Application

X CLR II B 1 Introduction

X CLR II B 3.2 Assessment of lack of unity at the search stage

X CLR II B 3.3 Assessment of lack of unity and of requests for refund of further search fees in examination proceedings

X CLR II B 6 Plurality of inventions – further search fees

X CLR II B 6.3 Applicability of Rule 64, (former) Rule 164(2) EPC or Rule 137(5) EPC

Case Law Book: IV Divisional Applications

X CLR IV B 4.2 Non-payment of further search fees under Rule 64 EPC

Case Law Book: V Priority

X CLR V A 2.3.1.A General

X CLR V A 2.3.2.B Request for a search-fee refund

Case Law of the Enlarged Board

X G 0002/92 (Non-payment of further search fees) of 6.7.1993

X G 0001/11 (Non-refund of further search fees/BAUER) of 19.3.2014

General Case Law

X T 1981/12 () of 24.9.2013

X T 2459/12 () of 17.10.2013

X T 0755/14 () of 21.5.2015

X T 0756/14 (Optoelektronischer Sensor - RÃ¼ckzahlung weiterer RecherchegebÃ¼hren/ … of 21.9.2018

X T 2076/15 () of 28.9.2018