Inklaim Guides
Guides
The form rules for patent drawings explained: EPO, PCT, USPTO and the Italian UIBM, with exact numbers and a link to the official text. For patent attorneys, patent draftspersons and corporate IP departments preparing the drawing sheets of an application.
In short: four guides explain the form rules for patent drawings at the EPO (Rule 49(2) EPC and the Decision of 7 July 2025, OJ EPO 2025, A49), the UIBM (Art. 22 D.M. 33/2010), the PCT (Rule 11) and the USPTO (37 CFR 1.84), plus the rules for reference signs. Each rule comes with its exact reference and a link to the official text.
Updated October 2026
All guides
If this is your first time, start with the general guide to patent drawings, then choose the office or topic you need.
Drawings, sheets and figures, the types of views, the workflow, and the EPO, PCT, USPTO and UIBM form rules compared in one table.
Read the guide →Rule 46 EPC was deleted in 2023. Margins, 26.2 × 17 cm usable area, 0.32 cm characters, FIG labels, text and color: the EPO rules in force.
Read the guide →No brackets, same feature same sign, text and figures aligned: the EPO, PCT, USPTO and UIBM rules on reference signs.
Read the guide →Italian patent application sheets: A4, black lines, 2.5 cm margins on every side (Art. 22 D.M. 33/2010), PDF/A since 2023, differences from the EPO.
Read the guide →How they are written
Every rule carries its reference and a link to the official text: epo.org, wipo.int, the 37 CFR, Italy’s D.M. 33/2010.
We cite the current texts. Example: for the EPO, Rule 49(2) EPC and OJ EPO 2025, A49, not Rule 46 EPC, which was deleted in 2023.
Each guide shows the date of its last update. Where practice is not settled we write “generally”: the final check stays with the patent attorney.
The guides explain the rules; the product pages show how Inklaim applies them. Start with the features or the consistency check between figures and text.
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