Unity And The EPO – A Clarified Approach?

In March 2021 the EPO published its revised Guidelines for Examination (hereafter, the "Guidelines"). One area of note that received extensive amendments was Part F Chapter V - Unity. In this article we take some time to examine what has changed, and how this might affect applicants.

A Brief Review

According to the EPC, a European patent application shall relate to one invention only or to a group of inventions so linked as to form a single general inventive concept (Article 82 EPC). Thus, our unity article introduces the notion of a "single general inventive concept". The rules elaborate: where a group of inventions is claimed in a European patent application, the requirement of unity of invention under Article 82 shall be fulfilled only when there is a technical relationship among those inventions involving one or more of the same or corresponding special technical features. The expression "special technical features" shall mean those features which define a