For the purpose of facilitating the adaptation of the national patent offices of the States parties to the Convention to the European patent system, the Administrative Council may, if it considers it desirable, and subject to the conditions set out below, entrust the central industrial property offices of such of those States in which it is possible to conduct the proceedings in one of the official languages of the European Patent Office with tasks concerning the examination of European patent applications drawn up in that language which, pursuant to Article 18, paragraph 2, of the Convention, shall, as a general rule, be entrusted to a member of the Examining Division.
Da bi se državni patentni uradi držav pogodbenic konvencije lažje prilagodili evropskemu patentnemu sistemu, sme upravni svet, če meni, da je to zaželeno in ob upoštevanju v nadaljevanju določenih pogojev, osrednjim uradom za industrijsko lastnino tistih od teh držav, v katerih je mogoče voditi postopek v enem od uradnih jezikov Evropskega patentnega urada, zaupati naloge v zvezi s preizkusom evropskih patentnih prijav, sestavljenih v tem jeziku, ki so po drugem odstavku 18. člena konvencije praviloma zaupane preizkuševalcu v oddelku za preizkuse.