3. Make the most of the information in the research report

A patent application that has been assigned a filing date is subject to a search, which consists in gathering all relevant prior art that is opposable to the invention, in order to verify its patentability. This search is carried out by a research division ( article 17 de la CBE ) and gives rise to a formal report, known as the "European search report". This report lists the documents which may be taken into consideration to assess the novelty and inventive step of the invention which is the subject of the European patent application. These documents – essentially granted applications and patents, as well as publications – are cited in connection with the claim(s) for which they are relevant. For the sake of intelligibility and efficiency, these documents...