European Patent Registration , Non-prejudicial disclosures

European Patent Registration
Non-prejudicial disclosures

According to the regulation in art. 55 of the European Patent Convention,

(1)

For a European patent application, a disclosure of the invention shall not be taken into consideration if it occurred no earlier than six months preceding the filing of the European patent application and if it was due to, or in consequence of:

(a)

an evident abuse in relation to the applicant or his legal predecessor, or 

(b)

the fact that the applicant or his legal predecessor has displayed the invention at an official, or officially recognised, international exhibition falling within the terms of the Convention on international exhibitions signed at Paris on 22 November 1928 and last revised on 30 November 1972. 

(2)

In the case of paragraph 1(b), paragraph 1 shall apply only if the applicant states, when filing the European patent application, that the invention has been so displayed and files a supporting certificate within the time limit and under the conditions laid down in the European Patent Convention (EPC) Implementing Regulations.

Prepared by European Patent Registration and Consulting Services GmbH