The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) issued its State Street Bank decision in July 1998. Following this decision, a large number of computer-related andbusiness model patent applications were filed and granted inthe US. In contrast to that, it is an implicit requirement of the EPC that any invention must have a technical character. Thus, a scheme for, for example, organizing a commercial operation, being of a pure commercial nature, even if run on a computer, would lack technical character and would therefore be excluded from patentability. In the case of a PCT application based on a US patent application which relates to a computer-related or business model invention, this difference between the EPC and US patent law is a problem when entering into the European phase. Regarding search, the EPO examiner has the discretion to do a complete search, a partial search or even no search at all, depending on the extent to which the claims refer to technical subject-matter. In the last two cases, the EPO transmits a declaration under Rule 45 EPC (EPO Form 1507) stating that it was not possible to carry out a meaningful search into the state of the art. The following alternative steps are possible in such a situation:
