| European Case Law Identifier: | ECLI:EP:BA:1987:T017884.19871207 | ||||||||
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| Date of decision: | 07 December 1987 | ||||||||
| Case number: | T 0178/84 | ||||||||
| Application number: | 80107150.7 | ||||||||
| IPC class: | G06F 13/00 | ||||||||
| Language of proceedings: | EN | ||||||||
| Distribution: | A | ||||||||
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| Title of application: | - | ||||||||
| Applicant name: | IBM | ||||||||
| Opponent name: | - | ||||||||
| Board: | 3.5.01 | ||||||||
| Headnote: | 1. It lies within the discretion given to the Examining Division by Rule 25(1)(b) EPC to decide that a patent application lacks unity of invention in the sense of Article 82 EPC even if the Search Division did not raise a similar objection under Rule 46(1) EPC. (This is the opposite of the situation Rule 46(2) EPC pertains to.) 2. The provisions of the Convention relating to unity of invention illustrate its general intention to leave it to the applicant to decide with what subject-matter to proceed in his patent application. The subject-matter concerned is excluded form further prosecution in the partent application. However, the applicant can file a divisional application to cover this subject-matter. |
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| Relevant legal provisions: |
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| Keywords: | Lack of unity - not reported in search stage Examining Division not bound by holding of Search Division Divisional application - not required Subject-matter not to be prosecuted in the parent application upon non-payment of further search fee |
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Source: http://www.epo.org/law-practice/case-law-appeals/recent/t840178ex1.html
Date retrieved: 17 May 2021
11 references found.
Click X to load a reference inside the current page, click on the title to open in a new page.EPO Guidelines - B Search
Offical Journal of the EPO
XOJ EPO SE 1/2021, p179 - Annex 1 - Index of published decisions of the boards of appeal and the Enlarged Board of Appeal - (as at 31 December 2020)
XOJ EPO SE 1/2020, p174 - Annex 1 - Index of published decisions of the boards of appeal and the Enlarged Board of Appeal - (as at 31 December 2019)
XOJ EPO SE 1/2019, p158 - XVI. - Index of published decisions of the boards of appeal and the Enlarged Board of Appeal - (as at 31 December 2018)
Case Law Book: II Conditions to be met by an Application
XCLR II B 3.3 Assessment of lack of unity and of requests for refund of further search fees in examination proceedings