All contracting states party to the EPC at the filing date of the application shall be deemed to be designated in the request for grant of a European patent (for a list of the EPC contracting states, see the General Part of the Guidelines, section 6). Any other state entered on the request for grant must be disregarded (see for the designation of contracting states on the request for grant form, A‑III, 11.2.2, A-III, 11.3.5 and A-III, 11.3.6). As indicated in A‑II, 2, when the application is in the name of joint applicants, each may designate different contracting states; objection is to be raised during the course of the examination for formal requirements if there is any ambiguity as to the states designated by the individual applicants.[Art. 79(1); ]
Source: http://www.epo.org/law-practice/legal-texts/html/guidelines/e/a_iii_11_1.htm
Date retrieved: 17 May 2021