Materials for examination

What to send with your initial enquiry

Describe the object and the disputed issue, the purpose of the examination, and the object’s location and availability. A description and a few relevant documents are usually sufficient for an initial assessment.

The list depends on the type of examination

• Patent number and period to be checked
• Product specimen or process materials
• Drawings, diagrams and operating descriptions
• Questions and information on how materials were obtained
• Description and technical task
• Known equivalents and key features
• Relevant date and territories
• Search boundaries and intended use of the result
• Patent and set of images
• A specimen or comparable photographs of the product
• Dimensions and information about intended use
• Questions and documents about the versions to be checked
• Certificates and information about the protected sign
• High-quality images of the variants compared
• List of goods and services considered
• Materials showing actual use and questions
• All object versions to be compared
• Source files, if available
• Information about material dates and provenance
• Exact list of disputed fragments
• Source materials to be compared
• Description of the file contents and how they were obtained
• Documentation and available version history
• List of modules and circumstances to be checked
• Report with all tables and illustrations
• Questions posed and procedural brief, if available
• Available original materials
• List of disputed statements

Submitting files

Attach materials to the enquiry form. When you select files, a separate confirmation of the terms for submitting them appears. Originals, samples and documents containing sensitive information are submitted under arrangements agreed in advance.

Terms for submitting materials