5.4.7 Deficiencies in computerised systems

In T 473/07 the board held that the representative's practice of checking only the dates entered by his records clerks while relying on the resulting time limits calculated by the computerised system did not rule out errors. Modern real-world offices comprised computerised systems but program deficiencies were also a well-known part of that reality and could not be absolutely ruled out. Therefore, relying exclusively on a time limit generated by a computer program and refraining even from a plausibility check did not meet the all-due-care requirement.

In T 902/05 the board held that whether the systems used in a particular firm to ensure that procedural acts were completed in due time fulfilled the requirement of the taking of "all due care" depended upon the individual circumstances of each case (see also T 1663/12). Where an applicant relied solely on electronic means to record and monitor time limits, the regular making of back-up copies, or some equivalent form of securing data, would generally be an elementary precaution.

For a case in which the computerised system was deemed satisfactory, see T 1269/13 of 4 February 2015 date: 2015-02-04.