2.9.2 Review by the EPO under Art. 24 PCT and excuse of delays under Art. 48(2) PCT

Pursuant to Art. 24(2) PCT, the EPO as designated/elected Office may maintain the application as a European application even if this is not required by virtue of Art. 25(2) PCT (see also OJ EPO 1984, 565, Reasons 4). The filing of a request under Art. 24(2) PCT is governed by the same requirements as a request for review under Art. 25(2) PCT (see E‑IX, 2.9.1), with the exception that the two-month time limit under Rule 51 PCT does not apply (see J 19/16, Reasons 6). Such requests may have to be combined with a request for re-establishment of rights under Art. 122 or further processing under Art. 121 (see E‑VIII, 2 and E‑VIII, 3) as the appropriate means of remedying the non-observance of a time limit under the EPC.