华孙事务所,2021年6月21日
问:在先申请来自哪些国家的欧专申请无需按照Rule 141(1) EPC规定向欧专局提交在先申请的检索结果?
答:《欧洲专利公约实施细则》第141条第(1)段(以下缩写为Rule 141(1) EPC)规定申请人有义务在提交申请的同时向欧专局提交作为优先权基础的在先申请的检索结果,如果在申请提交时尚未获得该检索结果,则至迟应在申请人获得该检索结果时提交;不过需要注意的是,同条第(2)段规定该义务在欧专局局长就此事项有做出特别决定的情况下可以得到豁免。
法条原文如下:
Rule 141 Information on prior art
(1) An applicant claiming priority within the meaning of Article 87 shall file a copy of the results of any search carried out by the authority with which the previous application was filed together with the European patent application, in the case of a Euro-PCT application on entry into the European phase, or without delay after such results have been made available to him.
(2) The copy referred to in paragraph 1 shall be deemed to be duly filed if it is available to the European Patent Office and to be included in the file of the European patent application under the conditions determined by the President of the European Patent Office.
(3) Without prejudice to paragraphs 1 and 2, the European Patent Office may invite the applicant to provide, within a period of two months, information on prior art within the meaning of Article 124, paragraph 1.
根据2010年10月5日欧专局局长决定,如果欧专局已经为作为优先权基础的在先申请做出过以下类型的检索报告,则对应的欧专申请无需提交在先申请的检索结果:
除此之外,截至2021年6月30日,根据欧专局与相关国家达成的双边协议,可豁免提交在先申请的检索结果的义务的在先申请来源国如下(共八个):
特别需要注意的是,自2021年7月1日起,来自中国和瑞典的在先申请也可豁免Rule 141(1) EPC所规定的提交在先申请检索结果的义务,详情请见下述局长决定:
上述两个局长决定均于2021年7月1日开始生效,适用于在此日期前欧专局尚未根据《欧洲专利公约实施细则》第70b(1)条针对其发出要求提交在先申请的检索结果的通知的欧洲专利申请。这意味着,如果申请人在2021年7月1日前收到了欧专局前述通知,则仍有义务在通知所规定的两个月期限内向欧专局提交在先申请的检索结果。
参考链接:
2021年5月欧洲专利公报发布的2021年5月14日欧专局关于豁免Rule 141(1) EPC所规定的在先申请检索结果的提交义务的通知(该通知总结了无需提交在先申请检索结果的不同情形):
https://www.epo.org/law-practice/legal-texts/official-journal/2021/05/a40.html [3]
欧洲专利局审查指南中对于在先申请检索结果的提交义务的说明:
https://www.epo.org/law-practice/legal-texts/html/guidelines/e/a_iii_6_12.htm [4]
Links:
[1] https://www.epo.org/law-practice/legal-texts/official-journal/2021/05/a38.html
[2] https://www.epo.org/law-practice/legal-texts/official-journal/2021/05/a39.html
[3] https://www.epo.org/law-practice/legal-texts/official-journal/2021/05/a40.html
[4] https://www.epo.org/law-practice/legal-texts/html/guidelines/e/a_iii_6_12.htm