5.1 Prior art pursuant to Rules 33.1(c) and 64.3

Under the PCT, the prior art does not comprise the content of other applications filed or validly claiming a priority date earlier than – but published on or after – the date of filing or valid date of priority of the application being examined. However, attention must be drawn to such applications in the international search report and, where applicable, the preliminary examination report, as they may become relevant under Article 54(3) EPC (see also GL/PCT‑EPO B‑XI, 4.3). By the "content" of an application is meant the whole disclosure, i.e. the description, drawings and claims, including:

(i)any matter explicitly disclaimed (with the exception of disclaimers for unworkable embodiments); 

(ii)any matter for which an allowable reference (see GL/EPO F‑III, 8, penultimate paragraph) to other documents is made; and

(iii)prior art insofar as explicitly described. 

However, the "content" does not include any priority document (the purpose of such document being merely to determine to what extent the priority date is valid for the disclosure of the international application).