EPC: Later filed claims with new subject-matter

Question

The following question is EPC-related:

I duly filed an application without any claims. Date of filing has been accorded under Art. 80, Rule 40. I will receive an invitation to file claims within 2 months, under Rule 58.

1. What happens if my new set of claims introduces a fresh subject-matter, not disclosed in the originally filed application? Based on which Art./Rule?

Just to compare: by filing missing parts, Rule 56 (does not apply to claims), the whole application gets re-dated.

Will it lead to an added subject-matter problem under Art. 123(2)? Will the date of filing of the whole application re-dated? Will the claims with old/new subject-matter have different effective date?

2. What happens if a newly filed application claims priority from the old/new subject-matter of the first application? Based on which Art./Rule?

Answer 1

not sure if I got your question right, but here are my thoughts:

1. Claims must be supported by the description, hence it is not allowed to introduce new subject matter, GL. F-iv.6.1. However, claims are generalisations of the embodiments in the description, which could potentially introduce new subject matter, in that case you could run into a Art. 123(2) problem, GL. F-iv.6.2.

2. If your newly filed application contains subject matter that is not disclosed in the filing you are claiming priority for, then the priority simply doesn't hold.