On 1 April 2010, various new rules came into force at the EPO concerning search and examination that will generally mean prosecution is needed earlier in the life of a European patent application.
Where a new application has multiple independent claims in the same category, a 1 month term will be set for the applicant to select which are to be searched.
Where the EPO decides a meaningful search is not possible, it will will invite the applicant to clarify the subject matter to be searched with a term of 1 month to reply.
It will also be a requirement to:
- Reply to the search opinion when paying the examination fee or confirming the applicant's desire to proceed to examination
- Reply to the IPRP/IPER on EP national phase entry if the EPO was ISA or IPEA