If applicants pay the fee for grant and publishing and any claims fees due under Rule 71(4) and file the translation of the claims within the specified period (and file or request no corrections or amendments to the text proposed for grant in the Rule 71(3) communication, see C‑V, 4.1), they are deemed to have approved the text intended for grant.[Rule 71(5); Art. 97(1); ]]

The above also applies where the Rule 71(3) communication was based on an auxiliary request, provided that the applicant does not reply to the Rule 71(3) communication by requesting that a grant be based on a higher-ranking request. This means that, in the absence of any indication to the contrary, the above acts imply approval of the text of the auxiliary request upon which the Rule 71(3) communication was based as well as the abandonment of all higher-ranking requests.

The above also applies where the Rule 71(3) communication included proposals by the examining division for amendments or corrections of the text intended for grant (see C‑V, 1.1). Consequently, provided the applicants do not reject these proposed amendments or corrections in their reply, the completion of the above acts constitutes approval of the text containing the amendments or corrections as proposed by the examining division.

Once all the requirements set out in C‑V, 1.1 to C-V, 1.4, are met, the decision to grant the European patent is issued, provided that renewal fees and any additional fees already due have been paid.[Rule 71a(1); ]

If a renewal fee becomes due after notification of the Rule 71(3) communication but before the next possible date for publication of the mention of the grant of the European patent, the decision to grant is not issued and the mention of the grant is not published until the renewal fee has been paid. The applicant is informed accordingly. If the renewal fee or any additional fee is not paid in time, the application is deemed to be withdrawn (see A‑X, 5.2.4).[Rule 71a(4); Art. 86(1); ]

In the rare case that examination was accelerated to such an extent that the communication under Rule 71(3) is issued before the designation fee becomes due, the decision to grant will not be issued and the mention of the grant of the patent will not be published until the designation fee has been paid. The applicant is informed accordingly. For European patent applications filed before 1 April 2009 or international applications entering the regional phase before that date this publication will not take place until the designation fees have been paid and the designation of states for which no designation fees have been paid has been withdrawn (see also A‑III, 11.1 and A-III, 11.3).[Rule 71a(3); ]

The decision to grant does not take effect until the date on which the grant is mentioned in the European Patent Bulletin.[Art. 97(3); ]