The Patents Rules 1995

Rule 80

SCHEDULE 4 EUROPEAN PATENTS AND APPLICATIONS (UK):TRANSLATIONS

Translations of European Patents (UK) filed under section 77(6)

1.—(1) A translation filed under section 77(6)(a) or (b) shall be filed in duplicate and shall be accompanied by Patents Form 54/77 in duplicate.

(2) A translation filed under section 77(6) shall comprise a translation of the entirety of the published specification of the patent (including the claims), irrespective of whether a translation of all or any part of the claims contained in the specification has previously been filed under section 78(7) but subject to subparagraph (5) below, and shall include any drawings in the specification, irrespective of whether the drawings contain textual matter.

(3) A translation filed under section 77(6) shall comply with the following requirements as to presentation, subject to subparagraph (4) below in the case of any drawings—

(a) it shall permit of direct reproduction by photography, electrostatic processes, photo-offset and micro-filming, in an unlimited number of copies;

(b) it shall be on A4 paper (29.7 cm × 21 cm) which shall be pliable, strong, white, smooth, matt and durable;

(c) each sheet of paper shall be free from cracks, creases and folds and used on one side only;

(d) each sheet shall be used with its short sides at the top and bottom (upright position);

(e) the minimum margins shall be—

top	2.0 cm
left side	2.5 cm
right side	2.0 cm
bottom	2.0 cm;

(f) the margins of the sheets shall be completely blank;

(g) the translation shall be typed or printed in single-line spacing (unless the comptroller otherwise permits), in a dark, indelible colour and in characters of which the capital letters are not less than 0.21 cm high, save that graphic symbols and characters and chemical and mathematical formulae may, instead of being typed or printed, be written or drawn;

(h) the translation shall be reasonably free from extraneous matter and also from deletions and other alterations, overwritings and interlineations and shall, in any event, be legible; and

(i) each sheet (other than a sheet of drawings) shall be numbered consecutively in arabic numerals.

(4) Where a translation including any drawings is filed, the sheets of drawings shall correspond exactly in content and presentation to the sheets of drawings which were published by the European Patent Office, except that—

(a) each sheet shall be numbered consecutively in arabic numerals, as a separate series from that used for the other sheets of the translation, if not so numbered when published by the European Patent Office; and

(b) any textual matter contained in the published drawings shall be replaced with a translation into English.

(5) For the purposes of subparagraph (2) above, the published specification of the patent shall be taken not to include—

(a) anything which does not consist of, or form part of, the description of the invention, the claims or the drawings referred to in the description or the claims;

(b) any claim not having effect in the United Kingdom; or

(c) anything published in a language other than the language of the proceedings (within the meaning of Article 14 of the European Patent Convention).

Periods prescribed under section 77(6)

2.—(1) The period prescribed under section 77(6)(a) for filing a translation of the specification of a European patent (UK) and paying the prescribed fee shall be three months from the date of publication of the mention of the grant of the patent in the European Patent Bulletin.

(2) The period prescribed under section 77(6)(b) for filing a translation of the specification as amended of a European patent (UK) and paying the prescribed fee shall be three months from the date of publication by the European Patent Office of the specification of the patent as amended.

Translations of claims of applications for European patents (UK) filed under section 78(7)

3.—(1) A translation of the claims of an application for a European Patent (UK)—

(a) in the case of an application which has been published by the European Patent Office, may be filed under subsection (7) of section 78 after the application has been so published; and

(b) in the case of an application which has not been so published but which is the subject of proceedings before the European Patent Office by virtue of Article 150 of the European Patent Convention, may be filed under that subsection after the application has been published under Article 21 of the Patent Co-operation Treaty.

(2) A translation filed by virtue of subparagraph (1) above shall be filed in duplicate and shall be accompanied by Patents Form 54/77, also filed in duplicate.

(3) The translation shall comply with the requirements contained in paragraph 1(3) above.

Corrected translations filed under section 80(3)

4.—(1) A corrected translation filed under section 80(3) shall be filed in duplicate.

(2) The corrected translation shall comply with the requirements contained in paragraph 1(3) and (4) above.

(3) Publication of the corrected translation shall be requested on Patents Form 54/77, which shall be filed in duplicate.

(4) The period prescribed under section 80(3) for payment of the prescribed fee shall be fourteen days from the day on which the corrected translation is filed.

Verification of translation

5.  A translation shall be verified to the satisfaction of the comptroller as corresponding to the original text of—

(a) the specification, in the case of a translation filed under section 77(6)(a);

(b) the specification as amended, in the case of a translation filed under section 77(6)(b);

(c) the claims of the specification of the application, in the case of a translation filed under section 78(7); or

(d) the specification of the patent or the claims of the application, as the case may be, in the case of a translation filed under section 80(3),

and if such verification does not accompany the translation when filed it shall be filed within one month of the sending by the comptroller of a written request for such verification.