Recent IP Developments – EPO Fee Increase 2026 and Referral G1/25

Referral G1/25 on adaptation of the description

Whether, and if so, how, the description should be adapted to an amended version of the claims in the course of an impending patent grant or opposition proceedings is a question that concerns both the European Patent Office (EPO) and applicants alike. The practice of the EPO tends to require extensive adaptations of the description or to make a specific proposal for such adaptations itself. The main argument of the EPO in this regard is that contradictions between claims and descriptions should be avoided in order to ensure legal certainty.

Objections from patent attorneys or applicants concerning the lack of a legal basis, unreasonable effort, and the risk of inadmissible extensions have so far been given little consideration in the practice of the EPO.

Since previous case law has been inconsistent, one of the Technical Boards of Appeal has now referred case T0697/22 to the Enlarged Board of Appeal with referral G1/25. The Enlarged Board of Appeal is to clarify the following questions in particular:

1. Is it required under the EPC to adapt the description to the claims if claim amendments during opposition proceedings give rise to inconsistencies between the description and the claims?
2. What is the legal basis for this?
3. Are the answers to questions (1) and (2) different if corresponding inconsistencies were to arise between the description and the claims during examination or during an examination appeal procedure?

For the above case referral, the Technical Board of Appeal has reviewed a total of 115 previous appeal decisions from application and opposition appeals. Two basic lines of reasoning have been found. The first is that the description had to be adapted. However, there was no agreement on the legal basis for the decisions in question.

Some cited Art. 84 EPC, while others referred to other provisions of the EPC. The second line of reasoning originated from application appeal proceedings. According to several decisions it was not necessary to adapt the description to the claims. These decisions were based, among other things, on the argument that there was no legal basis for such an adaptation, in particular it was argued that Art. 84 EPC does not provide such a basis.

These questions will soon be addressed and clarified by the Enlarged Board of Appeal – an oral hearing is scheduled for May 8, 2026 (Oral proceedings in case G 1/25 (“Hydroponics”) before the Enlarged Board of Appeal | epo.org). The oral hearing is open to the public and can be followed via livestream.

EPO fee increase as of April 1, 2026

The European Patent Office is increasing its procedural and annual fees by an average of around 5% as of April 1, 2026. Application, opposition and appeal fees will remain unchanged. The fee increases will apply to all payments received on or after April 1, 2026. To avoid additional costs, annual fees that are due shortly after the effective date can be paid before April 1, 2026.