Often, it is necessary to amend overseas-originating patent applications so as to avoid certain pitfalls of the European Patent Convention.
We offer a re-drafting service for applicants wishing to enter the UK or European national/regional phase of the PCT or to make a priority-claiming application. The EPO has particularly stringent requirements on the form and content of patent applications and this service aims to iron-out any potential problems prior to filing (or within the “Rule 161 period”).
European patent applications comprising more than 15 claims attract substantial “excess claim fees”. As such, simply by reducing the number of claims, the official fees can be significantly reduced. Moreover, by the appropriate use of multiple claim dependencies, Markush groupings, and by revising the description it is often possible to bring the total number of claims within the “free” allowance without any loss of clam scope or subject matter.
Another common problem with European applications is the need to respond to the International Search Report, the International Preliminary Report on Patentability, or International Preliminary Examination Report and how to deal with unity, divisional and un-searched subject matter issues. Our patent re-drafting service aims to alleviate some of the problems that are often encountered, and to address certain other formal matters (e.g. two-part claim formulation, reference signs, antecedent basis etc.) in a proactive way.
If you would like us to provide a quotation for this service, then please let us have a copy of the priority/PCT application for consideration and review no less than two weeks before the relevant due date. In most cases, our quoted fee will be considerably less than the additional fees payable had you not used the service, and in addition, the number of Office Actions can sometimes be reduced giving rise to long-term cost savings.