| Legal requirements applicable to European patent applications and patents |
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| Note: The above list of legal requirements is not exhaustive. |
Article 84 of the European Patent Convention (EPC)[1] specifies that the "matter" for which patent protection is sought in an application - the purported invention - shall be stated ("defined") in the claims. This legal provision also requires that the claims must be clear and concise, and supported by the description.[1] The function, form and content of the claims are defined by Article 84 supplemented by Rule 43 EPC.[notes 1][2]
The wording of Article 84 is as follows:
The claims shall define the matter for which protection is sought. They shall be clear and concise and be supported by the description.[1]
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