Chapter I

A system of law, common to the Contracting States, for the grant of patents for invention is established by this Convention.

Patents granted under this Convention shall be called European patents.

The grant of a European patent may be requested for one or more of the Contracting States.

A European Patent Organisation, hereinafter referred to as the Organisation, is established by this Convention. It shall have administrative and…

A conference of ministers of the Contracting States responsible for patent matters shall meet at least every five years to discuss issues pertaining…

European patents shall be granted for any inventions, in all fields of technology, provided that they are new, involve an inventive step and are…

European patents shall not be granted in respect of:

An invention shall be considered to be new if it does not form part of the state of the art.

For the application of Article 54, a disclosure of the invention shall not be taken into consideration if it occurred no earlier than six months…

An invention shall be considered as involving an inventive step if, having regard to the state of the art, it is not obvious to a person skilled in…

An invention shall be considered as susceptible of industrial application if it can be made or used in any kind of industry, including agriculture.

A European patent application may be filed:

A European divisional application shall be filed directly with the European Patent Office in accordance with the Implementing Regulations. It may be…

The central industrial property office of a Contracting State shall forward to the European Patent Office any European patent application filed with…

A European patent application shall contain:

All the Contracting States party to this Convention at the time of filing of the European patent application shall be deemed to be designated in the…

The date of filing of a European patent application shall be the date on which the requirements laid down in the Implementing Regulations are…

The European patent application shall designate the inventor. If the applicant is not the inventor or is not the sole inventor, the designation shall…

The European patent application shall relate to one invention only or to a group of inventions so linked as to form a single general inventive…

The European patent application shall disclose the invention in a manner sufficiently clear and complete for it to be carried out by a person skilled…

The claims shall define the matter for which protection is sought. They shall be clear and concise and be supported by the description.

The abstract shall serve the purpose of technical information only; it may not be taken into account for any other purpose, in particular for…

Renewal fees for the European patent application shall be paid to the European Patent Office in accordance with the Implementing Regulations. These…

The decisions of the European Patent Office may only be based on grounds or evidence on which the parties concerned have had an opportunity to…

In proceedings before it, the European Patent Office shall examine the facts of its own motion; it shall not be restricted in this examination to the…

In proceedings before the European Patent Office, following the publication of the European patent application, any third party may, in accordance…

Oral proceedings shall take place either at the instance of the European Patent Office if it considers this to be expedient or at the request of any…

In proceedings before the European Patent Office the means of giving or obtaining evidence shall include the following:

Where the applicants for or proprietors of a European patent are not the same in respect of different designated Contracting States, they shall be…

Decisions, summonses, notices and communications shall be notified by the European Patent Office of its own motion in accordance with the…

The Implementing Regulations shall specify:

If an applicant fails to observe a time limit vis-à-vis the European Patent Office, he may request further processing of the European patent…

An applicant for or proprietor of a European patent who, in spite of all due care required by the circumstances having been taken, was unable to…

The European patent application or European patent may be amended in proceedings before the European Patent Office, in accordance with the…

The European Patent Office may, in accordance with the Implementing Regulations, invite the applicant to provide information on prior art taken into…

In the absence of procedural provisions in this Convention, the European Patent Office shall take into account the principles of procedural law…

The central industrial property office of a designated Contracting State shall, at the request of the applicant for or proprietor of a European…

A European patent application transmitted in accordance with Article 135, paragraph 2 or 3, shall not be subjected to formal requirements of national…