Under the "Early Certainty from Search" (ECfS) scheme, completing examination files already started is prioritised over beginning work on new files, and grants are expedited once a positive search opinion has been issued.

The attitude of examiners is very important. They should always try to be constructive and helpful. While it would of course be quite wrong for examiners to overlook any major deficiency in an application, they should have a sense of proportion and not pursue unimportant objections. They should bear in mind that, subject to the requirements of the EPC, the drafting of the description and claims of a European application is the responsibility of applicants or their authorised representatives.

The attention of examiners is particularly directed to the instruction in paragraph 4 of the General Part of the Guidelines. This applies not only in relation to other departments of the EPO. It also means, for example, that the other members of an examining division should not attempt to repeat the work of the primary examiner (see C‑VIII, 4).