Chapter I – Filing of the European patent application
16th edition: this version presents the text in force on 1 July 2020. |
(1) European patent applications may be filed in writing with the European Patent Office in Munich, The Hague or Berlin, or the authorities referred to in Article 75, paragraph 1(b).
(2) The authority with which the European patent application is filed shall mark the documents making up the application with the date of their receipt, and issue without delay a receipt to the applicant including at least the application number and the nature, number and date of receipt of the documents.
(3) If the European patent application is filed with an authority referred to in Article 75, paragraph 1(b), such authority shall without delay inform the European Patent Office of the receipt of the application, and, in particular, of the nature and date of receipt of the documents, the application number and any priority date claimed.
(4) Upon receipt of a European patent application forwarded by the central industrial property office of a Contracting State, the European Patent Office shall inform the applicant accordingly, indicating the date of its receipt.
49See decisions of the President of the EPO, Special edition No. 3, OJ EPO 2007, A.1., A.3., A.5., OJ EPO 2009, 182; and the decision of the President of the EPO, OJ EPO 2015, A26OJ EPO 2017, A11 and the notice from the EPO, OJ EPO 2017, A12.
dated 09.05.2018 concerning the electronic filing of documents, OJ EPO 2018, A45, OJ EPO 2018, A93 and the notices from the EPO, OJ EPO 2018, A46, OJ EPO 2018, A94 using the EPO case management system (OJ EPO 2015, A27) or the EPO web-form filing service (OJ EPO 2014, A98) or online filing (OJ EPO 2015, A91, and 2016, A21 and OJ EPO 2017, A59).