5.4 Deficiencies 

Where a designation is not filed or cannot be considered validly filed due to a deficiency (e.g. inventor's name / country / place of residence / applicant's signature is missing), the applicant is informed that the European patent application will be refused if the deficiency is not remedied within the period prescribed under Rule 60(1), i.e. within 16 months of the filing date or, if priority is claimed, of the priority date. This time limit is deemed met if the information is communicated before completion of the technical preparations for publication (see A‑VI, 1.2). For divisional applications, see A‑IV, 1.5. Where the applicant has requested early publication and, accordingly, technical preparations for publication are completed before expiry of the 16-month time limit, the applicant can still file the designation within that time limit (see J 1/10). If the deficiency is not remedied in time, the application is refused and the applicant is notified accordingly. Further processing is possible according to Art. 121 and Rule 135 (see E‑VIII, 2).