Chapter X – Search report
7. Title, abstract and figure to be published with the abstract (as indicated on supplemental sheet A)
The search division fills in supplemental sheet A before publication of the application, regardless of whether it is going to be published with the search report (A1 publication) or without it (A2 publication), because the information entered there is needed to publish the application.
On supplemental sheet A, the search division indicates:
(i)approval or amendment of the abstract's wording, which is communicated to the applicant under Rule 66 (see A‑III, 10). The search division does not study the abstract beyond ensuring that it relates to the application and does not conflict with the invention's title or the application's classification. Since the abstract has to relate to the application as filed, the search division will consider it and decide on its final wording before carrying out the search, in order to avoid being inadvertently influenced by the search results.
If the search report is published separately (A3 publication), no information about the abstract is given on supplemental sheet A. The information sent to the applicant includes the invention's title and any figure of the drawings to be published with the abstract.
In exceptional cases, the search division may change the abstract after the search but, if the application has already been published (A2 publication), supplemental sheet A will not be reissued.
(ii)approval or amendment of the invention's title (see A‑III, 7)
(iii)approval, change or omission of any figure selected by the applicant to accompany the abstract (see F‑II, 2.3(vi) and F-II, 2.4)
(iv)the translation of the European patent application's title into the two other official languages.
The European Patent Bulletin is published in all three of the EPO's official languages (Art. 14(7)(a)) and contains the entries made in the European Patent Register. These entries include the invention's title (Rule 143(1)(c)) and so it must be available in all three official languages.
The above applies equally to applications published with the search report (A1 publication) and those published without it (A2 publication). In an A2 publication, supplemental sheet A also shows the application's IPC classification (see B‑X, 5). In an A1 publication, the IPC classification appears only on the search report (Rule 61(6)).
Supplemental sheet A also specifies whether it relates to an A1 or an A2 publication.
In the case of a supplementary European search report on an international application, supplemental sheet A is marked A4. The search division does not decide on the title, abstract or figure to be published with the abstract, as the ISA will already have decided on them under Rules 37.2 PCT, 38.2(a), Rules 38 PCT and Rules 8.2 PCT, respectively.