The Enlarged Board of Appeal at the EPO has issued a preliminary opinion in relation to G1/25, which deals with amendments to the description of a European patent or patent application.  The opinion is somewhat brief, and sets out that amendments to the description are required in the event that there is an inconsistency in the application “that causes non-compliance with the EPC”.

The oral proceedings are scheduled for 8 May 2026 and may be live-streamed by the EPO.

Here are some initial thoughts from our EPO appeals expert, Alex Gittins:

“The opinion is rather brief and sounds (as is typically the case) like it is stating the obvious: if the application does not comply with the EPC then some amendment is required.  What is not very helpful, and unfortunately I doubt we will get any guidance on this, is what the enlarged board feel is, or is not an inconsistency that causes non-compliance with the EPC.  However, perhaps there is a slight narrowing of what we will be arguing (potentially), in that the argument will focus on whether an alleged inconsistency actually causes non-compliance, rather than whether there is an inconsistency per se.”

For further details, please click HERE. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Alex or your usual Dehns contact.

If you have any questions about this then feel free to contact Alex or your usual contact person at Dehns.