2. The work of examiners 

Under the "Early Certainty from Search" (ECfS) scheme, completing Completing examination files already started is prioritised over beginning work on new files, and grants are expedited once a positive search opinion has been issued.

The attitude of the examiner is very important. Examiners should always strive to be constructive and helpful. While it would of course be quite wrong for them to overlook any major deficiency in an application, they should aim to keep a sense of proportion and not pursue trivial objections. They should bear in mind that, subject to the requirements of the EPC, the drafting of the description and claims of a European patent application is the responsibility of the applicant or their authorised representative.

Examiners should note in particular the instruction in section 4 of the General Part of the Guidelines. This applies not only in relation to other EPO departments. It also means, for example, that the other members of an examining division should not attempt to repeat the work of the first member primary examiner (see C‑VIII, 4).