Unity of invention under the European Patent Convention
Encyclopedia
Under , a European patent application must "relate to one invention only or to a group of inventions so linked as to form a single general inventive concept". This legal provision is the application, within the European Patent Convention
, of the requirement of unity of invention
which is applicable also in many other jurisdictions.
The lack of unity (of invention), or non unity (of invention), can appear either "a priori", i.e. before taking into account the prior art
, or "a posteriori", i.e. after having taken into account the prior art. An a posteriori lack of unity usually results from a lack of novelty
or inventive step
of the subject-matter of one independent claim
.
The former time limit for paying the further search fees was a period specified by the EPO, which had to be between two weeks and six weeks. Under new Rule 64 EPC, which entered into force on April 1, 2010, the time limit for paying the further search fees is now a period of two months.
The findings of the search division may be contested before the examining division, during the examination phase. If successful, further search fees may be refunded. The responsibility for establishing whether or not a European patent application meets the requirements of unity of invention ultimately rests with the examining division.
European Patent Convention
The Convention on the Grant of European Patents of 5 October 1973, commonly known as the European Patent Convention , is a multilateral treaty instituting the European Patent Organisation and providing an autonomous legal system according to which European patents are granted...
, of the requirement of unity of invention
Unity of invention
In most patent laws, unity of invention is a formal administrative requirement that must be met by a patent application to become a granted patent. Basically, a patent application can relate only to one invention or a group of closely related inventions. The purpose of this requirement is...
which is applicable also in many other jurisdictions.
The lack of unity (of invention), or non unity (of invention), can appear either "a priori", i.e. before taking into account the prior art
Prior art
Prior art , in most systems of patent law, constitutes all information that has been made available to the public in any form before a given date that might be relevant to a patent's claims of originality...
, or "a posteriori", i.e. after having taken into account the prior art. An a posteriori lack of unity usually results from a lack of novelty
Novelty (patent)
Novelty is a patentability requirement. An invention is not patentable if the claimed subject matter was disclosed before the date of filing, or before the date of priority if a priority is claimed, of the patent application....
or inventive step
Inventive step under the European Patent Convention
Under the European Patent Convention , European patents shall be granted for inventions which inter alia involve an inventive step. The central legal provision explaining what this means, i.e. the central legal provision relating to the inventive step under the EPC, is...
of the subject-matter of one independent claim
Claim (patent)
Patent claims are the part of a patent or patent application that defines the scope of protection granted by the patent. The claims define, in technical terms, the extent of the protection conferred by a patent, or the protection sought in a patent application...
.
Search phase
If, when carrying out a search, the search division considers that the application lacks unity (i.e., if the provisions of Article 82 are considered not to be met), a partial search report is established. One or more further search fees are then requested by the EPO for the other identified inventions (or groups of inventions) to be covered by the search.The former time limit for paying the further search fees was a period specified by the EPO, which had to be between two weeks and six weeks. Under new Rule 64 EPC, which entered into force on April 1, 2010, the time limit for paying the further search fees is now a period of two months.
The findings of the search division may be contested before the examining division, during the examination phase. If successful, further search fees may be refunded. The responsibility for establishing whether or not a European patent application meets the requirements of unity of invention ultimately rests with the examining division.