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European Patent Convention · Search and examination procedure

Rule 64 EPC: European search report where the invention lacks unity

Annotated by , Co-founder and CEO, PatentAssist.ai
Updated

Text of Rule 64 EPC

(1) If the European Patent Office considers that the European patent application does not comply with the requirement of unity of invention, it shall draw up a partial search report on those parts of the application which relate to the invention, or the group of inventions within the meaning of Article 82, first mentioned in the claims. It shall inform the applicant that, for the European search report to cover the other inventions, a further search fee must be paid, in respect of each invention involved, within a period of two months. The European search report shall be drawn up for the parts of the application relating to inventions in respect of which search fees have been paid.

(2) Any fee paid under paragraph 1 shall be refunded if, during the examination of the European patent application, the applicant requests a refund and the Examining Division finds that the communication under paragraph 1 was not justified.

Rule 64 EPC, excerpt. Full official text on epo.org

In plain English

When the search division finds that the claims contain more than one invention under Article 82, it searches the first one mentioned in the claims and sends a partial search report with an invitation to pay further search fees for the others.

Each further invention costs a full search fee, €1,595 from 1 April 2026 (Rules relating to Fees, item 2), payable within two months. The final search report covers the first invention and every invention you paid for.

You do not have to pay to keep the option of arguing. But G 2/92 is strict: an invention that was not searched because you did not pay cannot be pursued in this application. It has to go into a divisional, which gets its own search.

If you pay and later convince the examining division that the objection was not justified, you can ask for a refund under Rule 64(2). The request must be made in examination. G 1/11 held that a separate appeal against a refusal to refund goes to a technical board.

The period cannot be rescued by further processing (Rule 135(2)), so a missed payment means losing the search for that invention in this application.

Deadlines and fees

Step Time limit Basis
Pay further search fees 2 months from the invitation; €1,595 per invention; no further processing Rule 64(1); Rule 135(2); RFees item 2
Request a refund During examination Rule 64(2)

Key decisions

  • G 2/92 : An applicant who does not pay further search fees cannot pursue the unsearched subject matter in the application and must file a divisional for it.
  • G 1/11 : A separate appeal against an examining division's refusal to refund further search fees under Rule 64(2) falls to a technical board of appeal.

Common objections

Unity objection based on the partial search

The partial search report often shows that the linking feature is known (a posteriori lack of unity). Assess whether the remaining inventions are worth searching now or in divisionals.

Drafting and prosecution tips

  • Decide commercially: pay only for the inventions you might want in this application, and plan divisionals for the rest.
  • If you pay under protest in substance, set out your reasons in the reply to the search opinion and ask for a refund in examination.
  • Remember that the cheaper of the two routes may be the divisional, which also buys more time.

Related provisions

In the Guidelines for Examination (2026)

PatentAssist guides

All annotated EPC provisions

EPC excerpts are quoted from the European Patent Convention, 17th edition, as amended and published by the European Patent Office. Practice notes follow the Guidelines for Examination in the EPO (April 2026) and the Boards of Appeal decisions cited. Fees are those in force from 1 April 2026. This is general information, not legal advice: check the official text and confirm deadlines with a European patent attorney.