DPMAObservations & Oppositions builder

Third-party examination request

Section 44 PatGPrüfungsantrag eines Dritten

A one-page request, by a named third party, that makes the DPMA examine someone else's pending German application. It costs EUR 350, or EUR 150 after a search request, cannot be undone and gives no party status.

Start an invalidity search How IPtorch builds it
Claim 1 against D1 and D2 Limitation D1 D2 1a 1b 1c 1d 1e Disclosed [0017] Disclosed [0042] Partial Fig. 3 Disclosed [0051] Not found Disclosed [0023] Disclosed [0064]
Every limitation, a status and a location.

At a glance

7 years from filing

EUR 350 examination fee, EUR 150 after a search request (checked 22 Sep 2026)

Who can file
The applicant or any third party. No interest is required.
Deadline
Seven years from the filing date, not the priority date. The fee must also be paid inside it.
Official fee
EUR 350 (fee number 311 400), or EUR 150 (311 300) where the applicant has already requested a Section 43 search.
Anonymous
No. An unnamed request takes effect only when the name arrives (BPatG 10 W (pat) 26/02).
Representation
Only without a German domicile, seat or establishment: a German attorney-at-law or patent attorney (Section 25 PatG).
Language
German (Section 126 PatG).
How it is filed
Post or fax (+49 89 2195-2221). DPMAdirektPro needs a qualified signature and is undocumented for non-parties. Never email.
Party status
None. No office actions, no hearing, no appeal. You may inspect the file and are told when proceedings end.

What it is

Third-party examination request, in brief

German applications are examined only on request, and any third party may make that request within seven years of the filing date. It is used to make an examiner narrow broad claims that read on your product now, rather than face them later.

The request carries no reasons and no prior art: those go in a separate prior-art notice. Examination continues even if the request is withdrawn (Section 44(5) PatG). It also keeps alive an application that would otherwise be deemed withdrawn at seven years.

Use it when

  • A pending German application that reads on your product sits unexamined with broad claims.
  • You want an examiner to narrow the claims now rather than face them later.
  • No examination request is on file and seven years from filing have not passed.

Choose another route when

  • An examination request is already on file, or you want the examiner to see prior art and reasons. Third-party prior-art notice
  • Seven years are nearly up and nobody has requested examination: the application lapses at no cost to you.
  • The patent is already granted and nine months from grant publication have not passed. Opposition

How IPtorch builds it

From search to filing, minus the signature.

The invalidity search runs on into this filing when it ends, with no second click. Three model families take turns, so a draft is never checked by the model that wrote it.

  1. 1SearchClaims split into limitations, thousands of candidates screened, at least 50 references read in full.Gemini models read and check
  2. 2Claim mapA verbatim quotation and its location behind every limitation.Every cell checkable
  3. 3DraftWrites the papers in the office's format and language.Claude Opus 5.5 (Anthropic)
  4. 4ReviewChecks each citation against its document and builds the forms.Sol 6 (OpenAI)
  5. 5AdjudicateHigh strength: a third family rules on every objection.Gemini 3.1 Pro (Google)
  6. 6FolderUnsigned PDFs, ready for a professional to review, sign and file.Nothing is filed

What the builder does for this filing

  • The request is fixed template text: the requester named in the body, one sentence asking in words for examination under Section 44 PatG, and the fee statement.
  • It carries no reasons, prior art or argument; the claim map from the invalidity search goes into a separate prior-art notice instead.
  • Before drafting it checks the register: application pending, inside seven years from the filing date, no request already on file, and whether a search request sets the fee at EUR 350 or EUR 150.
  • It will not build a request for an unnamed client or in the attorney's own name, and nothing is filed or paid.

In the folder

  • Examination requestOne page of fixed wording, requester named in the body
  • Form A 9530 dataSEPA direct-debit mandate; the signed original goes by post
  • Form A 9532 dataMandate use: fee number, amount, file number
  • Payment details for a transferInternal sheet, not filed
  • Power of attorneyOnly where a representative acts; no notarisation
  • Form A 9520 dataNatural persons only: the Russia sanctions declaration

Builder strength

You choose how hard it is checked.

You pay for the tokens the sessions use, at the models' list prices plus a 30% fee, not for the time allowed. How pricing works

Low

40 minutesabout 10 million tokens (roughly $10 to $30)

  1. Opus 5.5 drafts the submission
  2. Sol 6 builds and checks the final forms

Medium

2 hoursabout 20 million tokens (roughly $20 to $60)

  1. Opus 5.5 drafts the submission
  2. Sol 6 reviews and rebuilds the content
  3. Opus 5.5 builds the filing folder
  4. Sol 6 checks the form

High

5 to 6 hoursabout 60 million tokens (roughly $50 to $200)

  1. Opus 5.5 drafts the submission
  2. Sol 6 runs a deep prior-art search
  3. Opus 5.5 rebuilds the submission against the evidence
  4. Sol 6 attacks it as an adversarial examiner
  5. Gemini 3.1 Pro adjudicates the objections
  6. Opus 5.5 applies the fixes and builds the filing folder
  7. Scripted checks of the filing folder
  8. Sol 6 audits the whole folder
  9. Convergence gate

If the gate fails, one repair round: opus 5.5 repairs what the gate found, sol 6 audits the repair, convergence gate, again.

What stays with you

You review, sign and file.

  • Record the client's decision to force examination, accepting it cannot be undone.
  • Sign the request in ink, or with a German qualified electronic signature.
  • Sign SEPA mandate A 9530 by hand and post the original to the DPMA.
  • File by fax or post, and pay within three months, never after the seven years.

Where these go wrong

What the builder guards against.

  • Sending only a fee form or a covering letter. The filed text must ask for examination in words (BPatG 7 W (pat) 7/18).
  • Paying by transfer at the last minute: the credit date counts. With under a week left, pay by SEPA mandate or cash.

More filings in Germany

DPMA and the Federal Patent Court

All 17 filings

Start with the evidence.

Upload the patent or enter its number. The invalidity search charts every claim, and the builder takes it from there.

Start an invalidity search

Facts checked against the office's rules on 22 September 2026. IPtorch is not a law firm and this page is not legal advice. The builder's output is unsigned work product for a registered professional to review, sign and file; nothing is filed and no fee is paid for you. Confirm current requirements, fees and deadlines with the receiving office.