3.1 Composition

3.2 Duties

At the request of the competent national court trying an infringement or revocation action, the EPO is obliged, against payment of an appropriate fee, to give a technical opinion concerning the European patent which is the subject of the action. The examining divisions are responsible for the issue of such opinions.[Art. 25; ]

Only requests from a national court in a contracting state will be accepted by the EPO.

In situation (a) above, grant or maintenance is handled by the formalities officer, and the dossier goes back to the division merely for checking the classification and title and adding any references to supplementary technical information (STIN) or newly cited documents (CDOC).

Where the case is remitted with the order to grant, or maintain, the patent on the basis of documents with handwritten amendments, the formalities officer on behalf of the competent division invites the applicant, or proprietor, to file a formally compliant version of the am

9.1 Orders on remittal

9.2 Consequences for the division