T 0712/25 - When the EPO forgets the drawings

Key points

• Yet another case where the EPO omits the drawings from the Druckexemplar, without notice.
• In this case, the applicant spotted the mistake of the EPO and even informed the EPO simultaneously with paying the grant fee and filing the translated claims. Still, the patent was granted without the drawing.
• The Board allows the appeal and reimburses the appeal fee.
• Respectfully, the EPO should make its processing of the drawings more robust. 
• " In the present case, drawing page 1/1 was part of application WO 2020/128200 A1 and was still present in the application when it entered the regional phase. However, it was absent from the 'Druckexemplar' and from the communication under Rule 71(3) EPC. While the appellant was informed of the deletion of page 53 of the description, he was not informed of the deletion of the drawing page. The absence of the drawing page is also inconsistent with the references to Figure 1 in the pages of the description intended for grant (page 46, lines 6 and 16). The Examining Division certainly did not intend to omit the drawing page without reason, in the absence of objections raised against it, without informing the applicant and without deleting the corresponding references in the description, especially since the applicant had already pointed out this omission and had only given his consent to the text intended for the grant of the patent on the condition that the drawing page be included."
• Appeal SoG filed 16.5.2025. Appeal granted 06.10.2025. 

EPO 

The link to the decision can be found after the jump.

https://www.epo.org/fr/boards-of-appeal/decisions/t250712fu1