1840.01 The European Patent Office as an International Searching Authority [R-5]
Since October 1, 1982, the European Patent Office (EPO) has been available as an International Searching Authority for PCT applications filed by U.S. nationals or residents in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) as receiving Office or in the International Bureau (IB) as receiving Office. The choice of International Searching Authority, either the EPO ,the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) or the USPTO, must be made by the applicant on filing the international application. The EPO has expressed the following limitations concerning its competency to act as an International Searching Authority. For updates or possible changes to these limitations, applicants should consult the PCT Newsletter which is available in electronic form from the web site of the World Intellectual Property Organization (www.wipo.int/pct/en/newslett/) .
I. SUBJECT MATTER THAT WILL NOT BE SEARCHED BY THE EPO
A. Field of Biotechnology
The EPO is not a competent authority within the meaning of PCT Article 16 (3)(b), and will not carry out an international search in respect of any international application filed on or after March 1, 2002 and before January 1, 2004 if the application: (A) was filed with the USPTO as receiving Office by a national or resident of the U.S.; or (B) was filed with the IB as receiving Office by a national or resident of the U.S. (provided the application did not also identify as an applicant at its time of filing a national or resident of a European Patent Convention (EPC) Contracting State),where such application contains one or more claims relating to the field of biotechnology as defined by the following units of the International Patent Classification:
| C12M | Apparatus for enzymology or microbiology |
| C12N | Micro-organisms or enzymes; compositions thereof |
| C12P | Fermentation or enzyme-using processes to synthesise a desired chemical compound or composition or to separate optical isomers from a racemic mixture |
| C12Q | Measuring or testing processes involving enzymes or micro-organisms; compositions or test papers therefor; processes of preparing such compositions; condition-responsive control in microbiological or enzymological processes |
| C07K | Peptides |
| G01N 33/50 (including subdivisions) | Chemical analysis of biological material, e.g. blood, urine; testing involving biospecific ligand binding methods; immunological testing |
| A61K 39 | Medicinal preparations containing antigens or antibodies |
| A61K 48 | Medicinal preparations containing genetic material which is inserted into cells of the living body to treat genetic diseases; Gene therapy |
| A01H | New plants or processes for obtaining them; plant reproduction by tissue culture techniques |
For information, U.S. classes covering the corresponding subject matter are listed below:
| 424 | Drug, bio-affecting and body treating compositions | |
| 435 | Chemistry: molecular biology and microbiology | |
| 436 | Chemistry: analytical and immunological testing | |
| 514 | Drug, bio-affecting and body treating compositions | |
| 530 | Chemistry: natural resins or derivatives; peptides or proteins; lignins or reaction products thereof | |
| 536 | Organic compounds–part of the class 532-570 series | |
| 800 | Multicellular living organisms and unmodified parts thereof | |
| 930 | Peptide or protein sequence |
B. Field of Business Methods
The EPO is not a competent authority within the meaning of PCT Article 16 (3)(b) and will not carry out an international search in respect of any international application filed on or after March 1, 2002 if the application: (A) is filed with the USPTO as receiving Office by a national or resident of the U.S.; or (B) is filed with the IB as receiving Office by a national or resident of the U.S. (provided the application does not also identify as an applicant at its time of filing a national or resident of an EPC Contracting State), where such application contains one or more claims relating to the field of business methods as defined by the following units of the International Patent Classification:
| G06Q | Data processing systems or methods, specially adapted for administrative, commercial, financial, managerial, supervisory or forecasting purposes; systems or methods specially adapted for administrative, commercial, financial, managerial, supervisory or forecasting purposes, not otherwise provided for |
| G06Q 10/00 | Administration, e.g., office automation or reservations; Management, e.g., resource or project management |
| G06Q 30/00 | Commerce, e.g., marketing, shopping, billing, auctions or e-commerce |
| G06Q 40/00 | Finance, e.g., banking, investment or tax processing; Insurance, e.g., risk analysis or pensions |
| G06Q 50/00 | Systems or methods specially adapted for a specific business sector, e.g., health care, utilities, tourism or legal services |
| G06Q 90/00 | Systems or methods specially adapted for administrative, commercial, financial, managerial, supervisory or forecasting purposes, not involving significant data processing |
| G06Q 99/00 | Subject matter not provided for in other groups of this subclass |
For information, the U.S. class covering the corresponding subject matter is listed below:
| 705 | Data processing: financial, business practice, management, or cost/price determination |
The U.S. Receiving Office will forward all international applications to the EPO as ISA if so indicated by the applicant and the EPO will perform a competence check on the search copy. Where the EPO finds that it was indicated as the ISA but the application falls under the limitations indicated above, the EPO will ex officio change the ISA from EPO to the USPTO and will inform the applicant, the International Bureau and the USPTO accordingly. The EPO will transfer moneys received as the search fee as well as the search copy to the USPTO.
C. Declaration Under PCT Article 17(2)(a)(i)
It should be noted that even when the European Patent Office is a competent International Searching Authority (for example, if one or more applicants is a resident or national of an EPC contracting state and the application was filed with the International Bureau as receiving Office), the EPO nonetheless will not search, by virtue of PCT Article 17(2)(a)(i) , any international application to the extent that it considers that the international application relates to subject matter set forth in PCT Rule 39.1 .
II. FEES FOR SERVICES OF THE ISA/EP
The international search fee for the European Patent Office must be paid to the USPTO as a Receiving Office within one month from the time of filing the international application. The search fee for the European Patent Office is announced weekly in the Official Gazette in United States dollars. The search fee will change as costs and exchange rates require. If exchange rates fluctuate significantly, the fee may change frequently. Notice of changes will be published in the Official Gazette shortly before the effective date of any change.
If the European Patent Office as the International Searching Authority considers that the international application does not comply with the requirement of unity of invention as set forth in PCT Rule 13 , the European Patent Office will invite applicants to timely pay directly to it an additional search fee in Euros for each additional invention.