As of 1 January 2011, the European Patent Office ( EPO ) will now require any earlier search issued in connection with a corresponding foreign priority application to be submitted for consideration during the Search and Examination stages.
Fortunately, the British Patent Office ( UK IPO ) has already indicated that it will do this automatically and therefore free of charge if the priority application is a British patent application.
However, applicants should be aware that the onus is on them to supply these details. Please contact Albright Patents for further advice through our Contacts page above.