6.7 Copy of the previous application (priority document)
6.7.1 Filing priority documents
Priority documents may be filed in paper form or electronically using EPO Online Filing or Online Filing 2.0, provided the latter are in an accepted document format, have been digitally signed by the issuing authority proving that the document has not been modified since the signature was applied and the signature is accepted by the EPO. Such electronic priority documents are currently being issued by the patent offices of Austria, Brazil, Czech Republic, Greece, Italy, France, Poland, Portugal, Singapore and the USA, with further offices expected to follow. Priority documents may not be filed using the EPO web-form filing service or the EPO Contingency Upload Service (see the decision of the President of the EPO dated 16 October 2024, OJ EPO 2024, A88 3 May 2023, OJ EPO 2023, A48) or by fax (see the decision of the President of the EPO dated 20 February 2019, OJ EPO 2019, A18). Where multiple priorities are claimed, the above time limit runs from the earliest date of priority.
The copy and the date of filing date of the previous application must be certified as correct by the authority with which the previous application was filed. Certification of the date may take the form of a separate certificate issued by that authority stating the date of filing date of the previous application (Rule 53(1), second sentence) or may be an integral part of the priority document itself. The certification of the copy's authenticity may also be a separate document or an integral part of the priority document.
A copy of the previous application (priority document) can also be filed on physical media other than paper, e.g. CD-R disc, provided that:
(a)the physical medium containing the priority document is prepared by the authority with which the previous application was filed and comes with the guarantee that its content cannot undetectably be altered subsequently
(b)the content of the physical medium is certified by that authority as an exact copy of (parts of) the previous application and
(c)the date of filing date of the previous application is also certified by that authority.
The certificate(s) may be filed separately on paper together with the physical medium. The physical medium must be readable and free of computer viruses and other forms of malicious logic.