7. No search opinion is issued 

Where an applicant has filed a request for examination under Rule 70(1) before being sent the search report and has waived the right to a communication under Rule 70(2) (see C‑II, 1(ii)), the examining division becomes responsible for the application as soon as the search report is sent (Art. 18(1) and Rule 10(2)).

If the application is deficient, the examining division will issue a communication under Art. 94(3) in place of the search opinion. If the applicant does not respond to this communication, the application will be considered withdrawn under Art. 94(4) (see C‑III, 4.2).

If the application is ready for grant, the procedure is as follows:

(i)Where the search for conflicting applications under Art. 54(3) was complete, the examining division will issue a communication under Rule 71(3).

(ii)Where the search for conflicting applications under Art. 54(3) was not complete, the applicant will be informed that the application can be granted so long as no state of the art under Art. 54(3) is found during the top-up search (see B‑XI, 3.9). This is purely for information and the applicant does not have to respond.