The differences in the ways US patent and European patent (EP) applications are drafted often pose problems during substantive examination when an EP application is filed based on a US application.
The differences in the ways US patent and European patent (EP) applications are drafted often pose problems during substantive examination when an EP application is filed based on a US application.
In general, only a single independent claim in each category (product, process, apparatus or use) is allowed in an EP application but multiple dependent claims are possible. The advantage of using multiple dependent claims is that it is possible to define many different embodiments using a limited number of claims.
In contrast to EP practice, US applications may have a multiplicity of independent claims, for example due to a very specific prior art reference precluding consolidation of some independent claims into a more generic independent claim. In the majority of US applications, dependent claims refer to just one main claim and although multiple dependent claims are possible they are subject to extra fees and are rarely used.
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patent applications, EPO, EP application, US application
