List of sections amended in 2023 revision

PART A

A‑II, 4.1.5;
A‑II, 5.1;
A‑II, 5.2;
A‑II, 5.4;
A‑II, 5.4.1;
A‑II, 5.4.2;
A‑II, 6;
A‑II, 6.1;
A‑II, 6.2;
A‑II, 6.3;
A‑II, 6.4;
A‑II, 6.4.1;
A‑II, 6.4.2;
A‑II, 6.4.3;
A‑II, 6.5;
A‑II, 6.6;
A‑II, 6.7;
A‑II, 6.8;
A‑II, 6.9;
A‑III, 3.2.2;
A‑III, 6.5.1;
A‑III, 6.7;
A‑III, 6.8.4;
A‑III, 9;
A‑IV, 1.1;
A‑V, 3;
A‑VI, 1.3;
A‑XI, 2.1;

Updated or new sections in view of amended Rule 56, new Rule 56a and the withdrawal of the notification of the partial incompatibility with Rule 20.5bis PCT (OJ EPO 2022, A3, OJ EPO 2022, A71).

A‑II, 5.5;
A‑III, 3.2;
A‑III, 3.2.1;
A‑III, 3.3;
A‑III, 16.1;
A‑VIII, 2.1;
A‑VIII, 2.3;
A‑IX;
A‑IX, 1.1;
A‑IX, 1.2;
A‑IX, 3;
A‑IX, 4.2;
A‑IX, 7.1;
A‑IX, 7.5.1;
A‑IX, 7.5.4;
A‑IX, 8;
A‑IX, 11.2.1;

Updated sections reflecting the legal changes as decided by the Administrative Council CA/30/22 rev. 2 to support the digital transformation in the PGP.

A‑III, 12.1

Updated in view of Montenegro’s accession to the EPC

A‑III, 13.2;

Updated sections in view of amended Rule 56, new Rule 56a and the withdrawal of the notification of the partial incompatibility with Rule 20.5bis PCT (OJ EPO 2022, A3, OJ EPO 2022, A71); the legal changes as decided by the Administrative Council CA/30/22 rev. 2 to support the digital transformation and the entry into force of WIPO Standard 26 (OJ EPO 2021, A97).

A‑IV, 5;
A‑IV, 5.2;
A‑IV, 5.3;
A‑IV, 5.4;

Updated sections in view of the entry into force of WIPO Standard 26 (OJ EPO 2021, A96, A97).

PART B

B‑III, 3.3;
B‑III, 3.3.1;
B‑XI, 2.1

Updated sections in view of amended Rule 56, new Rule 56a and the withdrawal of the notification of the partial incompatibility with Rule 20.5bis PCT (OJ EPO 2022, A3, OJ EPO 2022, A71).

B‑IV, 1.2 ;
B‑IV, 3.3;
B‑VI, 6.3;
B‑X, 9.1.2;
B‑X, 9.1.3;
B‑X, 11;
B‑X, 11.1;
B‑X, 11.2;
B‑X, 11.3;
B‑X, 11.5;
B‑X, 12;
B‑XI, 3

Updated sections reflecting the legal changes as decided by the Administrative Council CA/30/22 rev. 2 to support the digital transformation.

B‑X, 11.6

Updated practice concerning citation of video/audio fragments from the internet.

PART C

C‑III, 1.1.1;
C‑III, 1.3

Updated sections in view of amended Rule 56, new Rule 56a and the withdrawal of the notification of the partial incompatibility with Rule 20.5bis PCT (OJ EPO 2022, A3, OJ EPO 2022, A71).

C‑III, 5

Updated practice of summoning to oral proceedings as first action in examination in the case of divisionals identical to a refused parent.

C‑IV, 7.2

Updated practice in view of the top-up search for national prior rights

C‑V, 1.1

Updated sections reflecting the legal changes as decided by the Administrative Council CA/30/22 rev. 2 to support the digital transformation.

PART D

D‑III, 3.1;
D‑III, 5;
D‑VII, 4.3

Updated sections reflecting the legal changes decided by the Administrative Council CA/30/22 rev. 2 to support the digital transformation.

PART E

E‑II, 2.3;
E‑II, 2.4;
E‑III, 8.7.2;
E‑XII, 7.4.4

Updated sections reflecting the legal changes as decided by the Administrative Council CA/30/22 rev. 2 to support the digital transformation.

E‑III, 8.7.1;
E‑III, 8.7.3

Updated section reflecting the legal changes as decided by the Administrative Council CA/30/22 rev. 2 to support the digital transformation. Restructured by moving some content to E‑III, 8.7.2 and E‑III, 8.7.3.

E‑VIII, 2;
E‑IX, 2.2;
E‑IX, 2.5.1;
E‑IX, 2.8;
E‑IX, 2.9.4

Updated sections in view of amended Rule 56, new Rule 56a and the withdrawal of the notification of the partial incompatibility with Rule 20.5bis PCT (OJ EPO 2022, A3, OJ EPO 2022, A71).

E‑VIII, 4.3

Updated practice concerning Patent Prosecution Highway.

E‑VIII, 5

Clarified practice concerning accelerated processing of oppositions in view of the entry into force of the Unified Patent Court.

E‑IX, 2.4.2

Updated practice concerning sequence listings in view of the entry into force of WIPO Standard 26 (OJ EPO 2021, A96, A97).

PART F

F‑I;
F‑II, 4.8;
F‑II, 4.11;
F‑II, 4.13;
F‑II, 5.1;
F‑II, Annex 2;
F‑IV, 2.4;
F‑IV, 4.18;

Updated sections reflecting the legal changes as decided by the Administrative Council CA/30/22 rev. 2 to support the digital transformation.

F‑II, 6.2;
F‑II, 6.2.1;
F‑II, 6.2.2;
F‑II, 6.2.3;
F‑II, 6.2.4;

New section and sub-sections in view of the entry into force of WIPO Standard 26 (OJ EPO 2021, A96, A97).

F‑III, 6.3;
F‑III, 10;
F‑VI, 1.1;
F‑VI, 2.3;
F‑VI, 3.3;
F‑VI, 3.4;

Updated sections in view of amended Rule 56, new Rule 56a and the withdrawal of the notification of the partial incompatibility with Rule 20.5bis PCT (OJ EPO 2022, A3, OJ EPO 2022, A71).

PART G

G‑IV, 5.1.2

Updated sections in view of amended Rule 56, new Rule 56a and the withdrawal of the notification of the partial incompatibility with Rule 20.5bis PCT (OJ EPO 2022, A3, OJ EPO 2022, A71).

G‑IV, 7.5.6

Updated practice concerning citation of video/audio fragments from the internet.

PART H

H‑IV, 4;
H‑IV, 4.1;
H‑IV, 4.1.1;
H‑IV, 4.1.2;
H‑IV, 4.2;

Updated practice concerning allowability under Rule 137(5) by moving section H‑II, 6 and subsections to H‑IV, 4.

H‑III, 2.1.2;
H‑IV, 5.3;

Updated sections reflecting the legal changes as decided by the Administrative Council CA/30/22 rev. 2 to support the digital transformation.

H‑IV, 2.2.2;
H‑IV, 2.2.3;
H‑IV, 2.2.6;
H‑V, 5;
H‑VI, 2.2.2;

Updated or new sections in view of amended Rule 56, new Rule 56a and the withdrawal of the notification of the partial incompatibility with Rule 20.5bis PCT (OJ EPO 2022, A3, OJ EPO 2022, A71).

General Part

General Part, 3

Clarified practice with respect to the Unitary Patent system.

General Part, 7

Update of the number of extension states.

PART A

A‑II, 1.2.2;
A‑II, 4.1.2

Clarified practice concerning filing applications in electronic form.

A‑II, 5.6

Practice concerning calculation of the page fee

A‑III, 5.1;
A‑III, 5.2

Clarified practice concerning designation of the inventor.

A‑III, 16.2

Clarified practice concerning period to remedy a deficiency under Rule 30(1).

A‑VII, 2

Clarified practice concerning language of the proceedings.

A‑X, 4.2.2;
A‑X, 4.2.3;
A‑X, 4.2.4;
A‑X, 4.3

Clarified practice concerning deposit accounts.

A‑X, 5.2.4

Added examples concerning renewal fees.

A‑X, 6.2;
A‑X, 6.2.1;
A‑X, 6.2.2;
A‑X, 6.2.3

Clarified practice concerning payment of fees.

A‑X, 10.3.1;

Clarified practice concerning refunds to a deposit account.

A‑XI, 2.5

Clarified practice concerning file inspection before publication of the application.

A‑XI, 5.2

Clarified practice concerning priority documents issued by the EPO.

A‑II, 1.2.2;
A‑II, 4.1.2

Clarified practice concerning filing applications in electronic form.

PART B

B‑X, 9.4

Clarified practice concerning identification of relevant passages in prior-art documents.

PART C

C‑III, 3.1;

Restructured by moving former sub-section C‑III, 2.3 dealing with searches under Rule 164(2) to C‑III, 3.1.

C‑IV, 7.3

Clarified practice concerning additional searches of Euro-PCT applications.

C‑V, 2

Clarified practice with respect to the transitional measures in view of the entry into force of the Unitary Patent system.

C‑V, 15.2

Clarified practice concerning decision by means of a standard form .

PART E

E‑III, 1.1;
E‑III, 1.2;
E‑III, 1.3;
E‑III, 1.4;
E‑III, 2;
E‑III, 2.1;
E‑III, 6;
E‑III, 7.1.1;
E‑III, 8.2;
E‑III, 8.2.1;
E‑III, 8.2.2;
E‑III, 8.2.3;
E‑III, 8.2.4;
E‑III, 8.3.1;
E‑III, 8.5.2;

Clarified practice concerning holding oral proceedings by videoconference. Streamlined chapter by deleting outdated information and moving sections E‑III, 11 and subsections to E‑III, 1.3 and E‑III, 8.2.1-E‑III, 8.2.4.

E‑III, 8.11.2

Clarified practice concerning adjournment of oral proceedings due to lack of time.

E‑III, 10.4

Clarified practice concerning correction of minutes.

E‑VI, 2.2.2;
E‑VI, 2.2.3;
E‑VI, 2.2.4;

Updated practice regarding late filed submissions.

E‑VI, 3

Updated practice concerning observations by third parties

E‑X, 2.3

Clarified practice concerning language of the decision.

E‑X, 2.11

Clarified practice concerning refusal with no agreed text.

E‑XI

Clarified practice concerning impartiality of the division.

E‑XII, 6

Clarified practice concerning the form of appeal.

E‑XII, 9

Restructured to clarify the practice concerning remittals.

PART F

F‑IV, 4.3

Clarified definition of inconsistencies by adding further examples. Clarified practice of adaptation of the description for methods of treatment of the human and animal body, for the use of human embryonic stem cells and for plant and animals moved to G‑II, 4.2; G‑II, 5.3 and G‑II, 5.4.

F‑V, 3;
F‑V, 3.1;
F‑V, 3.1.1;
F‑V, 3.1.2;
F‑V, 3.2.4;

Clarified assessment of non-unity. Simplified examples.

PART G

G‑I, 1

Restructured to clarify the technical character of an invention.

G‑II, 4.2;
G‑II, 5.3;
G‑II, 5.4;

Clarified practice of adaptation of the description for methods of treatment of the human and animal body, for the use of human embryonic stem cells and for plant and animals.

G‑II, 5.6.1.1

Clarified definition by structure of the antibody.

G‑IV, 3;
G‑IV, 5.1;
G‑VII, 2;

Clarified interpretation of filing dates.

G‑VI, 7

Clarified practice in the assessment of novelty of purity.

G‑VI, 8

Clarified practice concerning selection inventions.

G‑VII, 5.4.2.5

Updated example.

PART H

H‑II, 2.4

Clarified practice concerning admissibility under Rule 137(3).

H‑II, 6.2

Clarified practice concerning additional search under Rule 164(2).

H‑V, 6

Clarified practice concerning amendments from drawings.

H‑VI, 4

Clarified practice concerning formatting/editing errors.

General Part

General Part, 2.1; General Part, 2.2; General Part, 6

PART A

A‑II, 1.2.1; A‑II, 1.5; A‑II, 3.1; A‑II, 4.1.1; A‑II, 5.4.4; A‑III, 1.2; A‑III, 4.1; A‑III, 5.3; A‑III, 6.12; A‑IV, 1.1.3; A‑IV, 1.3.1; A‑IV, 1.8; A‑IV, 2.2.3; A‑VI, 1.2; A‑VI, 2.2; A‑VII, 3.4; A‑VIII, 3.3; A‑IX, 2.2; A‑IX, 4.1; A‑IX, 5.1; A‑IX, 5.2; A‑IX, 5.3; A‑IX, 7.3.2; A‑IX, 7.4; A‑IX, 7.5; A‑IX, 7.5.3; A‑IX, 7.5.5; A‑IX, 7.6; A‑IX, 9; A‑IX, 11.1; A‑IX, 11.2.2; A‑X, 4.1; A‑X, 4.2.1; A‑X, 4.4 ; A‑X, 5.2.2; A‑X, 5.2.3; A‑X, 6.2.4; A‑X, 6.2.5; A‑X, 7.2; A‑X, 9.2.1; A‑X, 9.2.2; A‑X, 9.3.1; A‑X, 10.2.1; A‑X, 10.2.2; A‑X, 10.3; A‑XI, 2.2;

PART B

B‑II, 4.2; B‑III, 3.2; B‑III, 3.5; B‑IV, 1.3; B‑IV, 3.2; B‑VI, 4.2; B‑VII, 1.2.1; B‑VII, 1.2.2; B‑VIII, 3; B‑VIII, 3.2.1; B‑VIII, 3.2.2; B‑VIII, 3.4; B‑VIII, 4.2.1; B‑VIII, 4.5; B‑X, 2; B‑XI, 1.2; B‑XI, 2.2

PART C

C‑II, 1.3; C‑III, 2; C‑III, 3.2; C‑III, 3.2.1; C‑III, 3.2.2; C‑III, 3.2.3; C‑III, 3.3; C‑III, 3.4; C‑III, 3.5; C‑IV, 4; C‑IV, 7.4; C‑IV, 7.5; C‑V, 12; C‑VII, 5; C‑IX, 1.4

PART D

D‑IV, 1.5; D‑VI, 3.2; D‑VI, 5; D‑VII, 4.1.2

PART E

E‑III, 8.5.1; E‑III, 8.11; E‑IX, 3.2; E‑IX, 4.2; E‑X, 2.1

PART F

F‑II, 4.1; F‑II, 6.1; F‑II, F‑III, 1; F‑IV, 2.1; F‑IV, 3.2; F‑IV, 3.3; F‑IV, 4.10; F‑V, 2.2; F‑V, 4.2, F‑V, 5.1; F‑V, 5.2; F‑V, 5.3; F‑V, 6; F‑V, 7.1;

PART G

G‑I, 2; G‑II, 1; G‑II, 3.3.2; G‑II, 5.6.2; G‑III, 1; G‑IV, 5.4; G‑IV, 7.6; G‑VI, 3; G‑VII, 5.1; G‑VII, 11

PART H

H‑II, 2; H‑II, 2.3; H‑II, 2.5.1; H‑II, 3.1; H‑II, 6; H‑II, 6.1; H‑II, 6.3; H‑II, 6.4; H‑II, 6.4.1; H‑II, 6.4.2; H‑III, 3.3.2.2; H‑IV; H‑IV, 2.2.4; H‑IV, 2.2.5; H‑IV, 2.2.7; H‑IV, 2.2.8; H‑IV, 2.2.9; H‑IV, 3.4; H‑IV, 5; H‑IV, 5.1; H‑IV, 5.2; H‑IV, 5.4; H‑IV, 5.4.1; H‑IV, 5.4.2; H‑IV, 5.4.3; H‑VI, 1; H‑VI, 2.1.1.1; H‑VI, 3; H‑VI, 3.3;