1. Rule 141(2) EPC provides that a copy of the search results under Rule 141(1) EPC is deemed to be duly filed if it is available to the European Patent Office (EPO) and to be included in the file of the European patent application under the conditions determined by the President of the EPO.
2. Following a decision of the President of the EPO, the EPO includes the above-mentioned copy in the file of a European patent application where it has drawn up certain types of search reports on an application whose priority is claimed, thus exempting applicants in these cases from filing the copy themselves.
3. The President of the EPO has moreover decided that the EPO also includes a copy of the search results in the file of a European patent application, thus exempting the applicant from filing the copy himself, where the priority of a first filing made in Austria, Denmark, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom or the United States of America is claimed.
4. By decisions dated 8 April 2021 and 14 May 2021, the President of the EPO has added the Peopleʹs Republic of China and Sweden to the above list of countries.
5. As a result, applicants will be exempted from filing a copy of the search results under Rule 141(1) EPC if they are claiming the priority of either
Source: EPO