5/22/23, 12:57 PM
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`Rule 43 – Form and content of claims
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`Legal textsEuropean Patent Conven… ContentsImplementing RegulationsPart IIIChapter IIRule 43
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`󰀦 16th edition: this version presents the text in force on 1 July 2020.
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`https://new.epo.org/en/legal/epc/2016/r43.html
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`Meta Platforms Exhibit 1011
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`/en/legal/epc/2016/r43.html
`Rule 43
`Form and content of claims
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`The claims shall dene the matter for which protection is sought in terms of the technical features of the invention. Wherever appropriate, claims shall
`contain:
`(1)
`a statement indicating the designation of the subject-matter of the invention and those technical features which are necessary for the denition of the
`claimed subject-matter but which, in combination, form part of the prior art;
`(a)
`a characterising portion, beginning with the expression "characterised in that" or "characterised by" and specifying the technical features for which, in
`combination with the features stated under sub-paragraph (a), protection is sought.
`(b)
`Without prejudice to Article 82, a European patent application may contain more than one independent claim in the same category (product, process,
`apparatus or use) only if the subject-matter of the application involves one of the following:
`(2)
`a plurality of interrelated products,
`(a)
`dierent uses of a product or apparatus,
`(b)
`alternative solutions to a particular problem, where it is inappropriate to cover these alternatives by a single claim.
`(c)
`Any claim stating the essential features of an invention may be followed by one or more claims concerning particular embodiments of that invention.
`(3)
`Any claim which includes all the features of any other claim (dependent claim) shall contain, if possible at the beginning, a reference to the other claim
`and then state the additional features. A dependent claim directly referring to another dependent claim shall also be admissible. All dependent claims
`referring back to a single previous claim, and all dependent claims referring back to several previous claims, shall be grouped together to the extent and in
`the most appropriate way possible.
`(4)
`The number of claims shall be reasonable with regard to the nature of the invention claimed. The claims shall be numbered consecutively in Arabic
`numerals.
`(5)
`Except where absolutely necessary, claims shall not rely on references to the description or drawings in specifying the technical features of the
`invention. In particular, they shall not contain such expressions as "as described in part ... of the description", or "as illustrated in gure ... of the drawings".
`(6)
`Where the European patent application contains drawings including reference signs, the technical features specied in the claims shall preferably be
`followed by such reference signs relating to these features, placed in parentheses, if the intelligibility of the claim can thereby be increased. These reference
`signs shall not be construed as limiting the claim.
`(7)
`See decisions of the Enlarged Board of Appeal G 2/03, G 1/04 (Annex I).
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