This decision both reflects the importance of the official search results for applicants and corroborates the importance of the official search results to be established in due time.

By way of background, a German national patent application is deemed withdrawn (as in the decided case) inter alia when it serves as basis for a priority claim of (a) a further national German patent application or (b) a PCT application filed via the GPTO as Receiving Office without exempting the designation of Germany. Still, applicant can (and often does) have a legitimate interest in a timely search report even in cases in which a convention application was already filed. For illustration, it may be prudent in many cases for applicant to modify the claims and/or the overall disclosure of a (still further) convention application, taking into account the search results.

Der Beitrag Search report for patent application deemed to be withdrawn erschien zuerst auf meier ip.