3.1 IPC classification of late-published search reports 

Where the search report is not available in time for publication of the application, and is therefore published separately, and the search division finds it necessary to amend the assigned IPC classification for the reasons given in B‑V, 3, last paragraph, it states the amended classification on the search report, indicating that it constitutes the IPC classification in place of that published on the application (which thus becomes merely the "classification for publication"). Such amendment of the classification is not made unless the search division is quite certain that it is necessary.

Where a European patent application is classified and published without the European search report (A2 publication), the European search report is prepared and published separately after publication of the application (A3 publication). It may happen that a new edition of the IPC is published in the period between publication of the European application (A2 publication) and the separate publication of the search report (A3 publication). In this case, the search division uses for the search report that version of the IPC which was in force when the application was published.