Information disclosure requirements
for European patent applications
The European Patent Office (EPO) will soon require certain information on prior art known to the applicant to be submitted as a matter of course. The provisions will apply for new applications filed in Europe, either as a direct filing or out of the PCT, from 1 January 2011. European law has always contained a provision that allows the Examiner to request prior art information to be submitted, but it has rarely been used.
The new rules will require that any search results received on patent applications from
which priority is claimed must be submitted on filing the application in Europe. If these
search results are received after filing the European patent application, they must be
provided to the EPO without delay.
If at the time examination commences no priority application search results have been submitted, the applicant will be specifically invited to file the search results within a period of two months, or confirm that there are no search results to make available. Failure to reply will lead to the European application being deemed withdrawn.
The possibility for the Examiner to request submission of details of any prior art information known to the applicant will still apply for all European patent applications. It remains to be seen whether this provision will be invoked more frequently.
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