EUROPEAN PATENT OFFICE
Information from the EPO
Decision of the President of the European Patent Office dated 14 January 2022 concerning the refund of the search fee under Article 9(2) of the Rules relating to Fees
The President of the European Patent Office,
having regard to Article 9(2) of the Rules relating to Fees,
HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:
Article 1
Refundable amounts
Where the European search report or the supplementary European search report is based on an earlier search report prepared by the Office on
- an application whose priority is claimed, or
- an earlier application within the meaning of Article 76 EPC, or
- an original application within the meaning of Rule 17 EPC,
the search fee paid for the search on the pending European patent application shall be refunded as follows:
Type of earlier search | Level of benefit for current search and refund |
|---|---|
1. Searches with written opinion |
|
1.1 European search (Art. 92 EPC) on a European patent application filed on or after 1 July 2005 |
full 100 % |
1.2a) International search (Art. 15(1) PCT) on an international application filed on or after 1 January 2004 |
full 84 % |
1.2b) Supplementary international search |
|
1.2c) Search made on behalf of a national office on a national application (AL,1 BE,2 CY, FR, GB, GR, HR,1 IT, LT, LU, LV, MC, MT, NL,2 SM, TR) |
|
2. Searches without written opinion |
|
2a) European search (Art. 92 EPC) on a European patent application filed before 1 July 2005 |
full 70 % |
2b) International search (Art. 15(1) PCT) on an international application filed before 1 January 2004 |
|
2c) International-type search (Art. 15(5) PCT) |
|
2d) Standard search |
|
2e) Search made on behalf of a national office on a national application (BE, CY, FR, GR, LU, NL, TR) |
Article 2
Refund level
If the EPO can make full use of the earlier search report, it shall make a full refund as indicated in Article 1.
If the EPO can make partial use of the earlier search report, it shall make a partial refund as indicated in Article 1.
Article 3
Criteria for refund and refund procedure
The criteria determining the applicable refund level (full or partial use of the earlier search report) and the refund procedure shall be governed by the notice from the European Patent Office dated 9 January 2009 concerning the criteria for refund of search fees (OJ EPO 2009, 99).
Article 4
Entry into force
This decision shall enter into force on 1 April 2022 and shall apply to all European patent applications in respect of which the European or supplementary European search report is drawn up on or after that date.
It replaces the decision of the President of the European Patent Office dated 21 December 2018 (OJ EPO 2019, A5).
Done at Munich, 14 January 2022
António CAMPINOS
President