INFORMATION FROM THE EPO
Notice dated 8 March 2004 concerning an updated version of the Request for Grant form
An updated version of the Request for Grant form (EPA/EPO/OEB Form 1001, version 04.04) was issued in April 2004. The following amendments have been made to version 09.03 which was printed and made available for distribution in January 20041.
1. The footnote to Section 32.1 now includes the new contracting state Poland (PL)2. The Section 32.1 declaration, which covers all EPC contracting states at the time the application is filed, is worded in such a way that when Form 1001 is used any new contracting states are also designated, even if they have not yet been included in the footnote. Attention is drawn to the notice concerning Poland's accession in Official Journal 2004, 1. The Notes on the Request for Grant have been amended accordingly to include a request in Polish in Part II, re Section 53.
2. Croatia (HR) became a new extension state with effect from 1 April 20044. The list of countries for which extension fees can be paid has been supplemented accordingly in Section 34. There is space in the previous version of the form to add a country by hand.
The updated version (04.04) both of Form 1001 and of the Notes are available in editable PDF format on the Office's Internet website at http://www.european-patent-office.org
The latest version of Form 1001 and the Notes are printed in a forthcoming issue of the Official Journal.
There are no plans at present to reprint the updated version for distribution. Copies of the previous version can be used up without legal prejudice to the applicant.
1 OJ EPO 2003, 586 and OJ EPO 2004, 42.
3 See Section 32.1 of the Request for Grant form (EPA/EPO/OEB Form 1001 09.03; OJ EPO 2004, 43 ff).
If the examination fee is to be reduced in accordance with Rule 6(3) EPC and Article 12(1) RFees, the request for grant can be submitted in Polish as follows:
"Niniejszym wnosi się o badanie zgłoszenia napodstawie art. 94"
(see Part II, 5(s) of the Notes concerning Form 1001). Since Form 1001 already contains in Section 5 (left-hand column) a pre-printed written request for examination in the EPO official languages, it is recommended that the written request for examination in Polish be entered in the right-hand column of Section 5. The request for grant in Polish may, however, also be filed later, up to such time as the examination fee is paid (see Decision J 21/98, published in OJ EPO 2000, 406).
4 See OJ EPO 2004, 117.