Patents
Guidelines for Examination in the EPO
November 03, 2020
Upcoming revised editions of the EPC and PCT-EPO Guidelines will be published every year at the beginning of March, without advance publication.
The Guidelines for Examination give instructions on the practice and procedure to be followed in the various aspects of the examination of European applications and patents in accordance with the European Patent Convention and its Implementing Regulations.
In previous years, the revised editions of the Guidelines for Examination in the EPO and the Guidelines for Search and Examination at the EPO as PCT Authority were published annually on 1 November, with an advance "preview" version published on the EPO website at the beginning of October.
Upcoming revised editions of the Guidelines will be published every year at the beginning of March, without advance publication. The next edition of the EPO Guidelines will be published and enter into force at the beginning of March 2021.