What actually is a ‘meaningful’ search (Rule 63 EPC)?

What actually is a ‘meaningful’ search (Rule 63 EPC)?

Journal article

1 online resource (pages 1-2)

The patent-granting procedure before the European Patent Office (EPO) begins with the search phase before the Search Division (SD) (Article 17 European Patent Convention (EPC)) and continues with the examination phase before the Examining Division (Article 18 European Patent Convention (EPC)). During the search phase, no exchange is expected to take place between the applicant and the SD. Under certain circumstances, however, the SD may deviate from this principle and issue a request for clarification. This happens if the SD considers that the patent application fails to comply with the EPC to such an extent that it is ‘impossible to carry out a meaningful search’ (Rule 63(1) EPC). In case the applicant fails to reply within the time limit set or in case the SD does not consider the applicant’s clarification to be sufficient, the SD may decide to issue a partial search report or even a declaration of no-search (Rule 63(2) EPC). These decisions may be reviewed during the examination phase before the Examining Division.

Intellectual Property Law & Practice, 21, 1, 2026

Oxford, UK : Oxford University Press, 2026.

English

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