103.04 智慧財產權月刊 VOL.184
11
本月專題
探討發明單一性之專利審查實務
11
EPCArticle 82Unity of invention
“
The 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.
”
12
EPC Rule 44
“
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 contribution which each of the claimed inventions considered as a whole makes over the prior art.
（
2
）
The determinationwhether a group of inventions is so linked as to form a single general inventive
concept shall be made without regard to whether the inventions are claimed in separate claims or as
alternativeswithin a single claim.
”
13
EPC Rule 64
，
European search report where the invention lacks unity
“
If the European Patent
Office considers that the European patent application does not comply with the requirement of unity
of invention, it shall draw up a partial search report on those parts of the application which relate
to the invention, or the group of inventions within the meaning of Article 82, first mentioned in the
claims. It shall inform the applicant that, for the European search report to cover the other inventions,
a further search feemust be paid, in respect of each invention involved, within a period of twomonths.
The European search report shall be drawn up for the parts of the application relating to inventions in
respect ofwhich search fees have beenpaid.
”
有考量而放棄申復、修正之機會，故本案於
2013
年
5
月
3
日逕予核駁審定。故此等
明顯不符單一性之情形，如先選擇某ㄧ群組進行檢索是否有其實質效益？在檢
索、審查之前先請申請人擇ㄧ或分割，確實可提升審查經濟效益。
參、EPO有關單ㄧ性相關法規及審查程序
一、相關法規及審查基準內容
EPO
對於專利單一性的規定與一般概念無異，
EPC
第
82
條
11
規定：「一個專利
申請案僅為有關一個發明，或是在一個廣義的發明概念下的一組發明」。再根據
EPC
施行細則第
44
條
12
規定：「（
1
）在一個廣義的發明概念的一組發明應具有技
術關聯性，共同具有一個或多個相同或是對應的特別技術特徵，特別技術特徵係
指申請專利之發明整體具有克服先前技術之貢獻。（
2
）一組發明於技術上是否
相互關聯之判斷，不因其於不同之請求項記載或於單一請求項中以選擇形式記載
而有差異」。
若申請專利範圍不符單一性規定，
EPC
施行細則第
64
條
13
規定「歐洲專利申
請案經判斷申請專利範圍有不符單一性的情況時，隨同發出不符單一性時，僅針
對第一組權利範圍提出部分檢索報告，若申請人希望歐洲專利局能夠對另一組範
圍提出檢索報告，則需在
2
個月內繳交額外費用」。
