C. PROCEDURE BEFORE SEARCH, EXAMINING AND OPPOSITION DIVISIONS
C.3.1 Utilisation scheme - permanent scheme
Decision of the President of the European Patent Office dated 19 September 2012 exempting applicants claiming the priority of a first filing made in Austria from filing a copy of the search results under Rule 141(1) EPC – utilisation scheme1,2
The President of the European Patent Office, having regard to Rules 141(1) and (2) and Rule 70b(1) EPC and (2) of the European Patent Convention (EPC), has decided as follows:
Article 1
Exemption under Rule 141(2) EPC from filing a copy of the search results
The European Patent Office shall include in the file of a European patent application a copy of the search results referred to in Rule 141(1) EPC, thus exempting the applicant from filing said copy, where the priority of a first filing made in Austria is claimed.
Article 2
Entry into force
This decision shall enter into force on 1 October 2012 and shall apply to European patent applications in respect of which an invitation under Rule 70b EPC has not yet been despatched by the date of entry into force of this decision.
Done at Munich, 19 September 2012
Benoît BATTISTELLI
President
1 See notice from the European Patent Office dated 28 July 2010 concerning amended Rule 141 EPC and new Rule 70b EPC
– utilisation scheme, OJ EPO 2010, 410.
2 See notice from the European Patent Office dated 19 September 2012 concerning exemption under Rule 141(2) EPC from filing a copy of the search results – utilisation scheme, OJ EPO 2012, 542.