Art. 112 EPC defines the conditions in which legal uniformity within the European patent system may be established by means of a referral to the Enlarged Board of Appeal. It requires the boards (Art. 112(1)(a) EPC) or the President (Art. 112(1)(b) EPC) to deem the referral necessary, either in order to ensure uniform application of the law or if points of law of fundamental importance arise. For a referral by the President, a further admissibility criterion is that two boards of appeal must have given different decisions on the question referred (G 3/08 date: 2010-05-12, OJ 2011, 10).

This chapter concerns Art. 112 EPC. The Enlarged Board's answers to referred questions of law are covered in the chapters corresponding to these questions.