Chapter IV – Claims (Art. 6 and formal requirements)
5. Conciseness, number of claims
See ISPE Guidelines 5.42.
The EPO applies option GL/ISPE A5.42[2] of the Appendix to Chapter 5 of the ISPE Guidelines.
Where it is found that the claims lack conciseness under Art. 6, it may be appropriate for the examiner to first invite the applicant to provide informal clarification before the search is carried out (see GL/PCT‑EPO B‑VIII, 3.3 to GL/PCT‑EPO B‑VIII, 3.6).