By decision dated 16 October 2013, the Administrative Council of the European Patent Organisation amended Rules 164 and 135 EPC. The purpose of the amendment of Rule 164 is the following : applicants may now obtain, upon payment of a further search fee, a search for any invention which is claimed and was not searched by the European Patent Office (EPO) during the international phase.
The amendment makes it possible for the applicants to choose any invention searched by the EPO either in the international phase, in the procedure for supplementary European search or in the procedure under amended Rule 164 so that this chosen invention becomes the basis for further prosecution of the Euro-PCT application in the European phase.
The real objective pursued by this amendment is to ensure that all applicants, irrespective of their choice of route (Euro-direct or Euro-PCT) and International Searching Authority (EPO or another ISA), now have exactly the same rights regarding the prosecution of their application in the European phase. This is especially true in the case of non-unity. The amended rule actually gives users more flexibility and, maybe more essentially, establishes equal service levels between the procedures under the EPC and the PCT.
Amendment of Rule 135 must be seen as a simple technical change in the rule ruling out further processing in respect of periods referred to in some Articles and Rules of the EPC, adding in fact the periods referred to in rule 164 paragraphs 1 and 2.
The amendments will enter into force on 1 November 2014.
Amendment of Rules 164 and 135 European Patent Convention (EPC)