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INFORMATION FROM THE EPO

Notices of the President of the EPO

Notice of the President of the European Patent Office dated 8 July 1999 concerning the closing of the European Patent Office on 3 and 4 January 2000

The transition to Year 2000

The European Patent Office will be closed on 3 and 4 January 2000.

Already in 1996 the preparations for the Year 2000 transition started at the EPO. A programme of work was embarked upon with the objective of ensuring Year 2000 compliance of the computing systems. During the last two years the major systems have been upgraded to Year 2000 compliant status. A large Year 2000 test environment - a "time machine" - was created for realistic system testing. Testing of all systems will continue throughout 1999.

In view of all preparatory work and testing both foreseen and already carried out, the EPO can reasonably conclude that our computing systems will be Year 2000 compliant. However, we are continuing our efforts to minimize the risk of failure of the Office's computer systems. A detailed plan has been made for the activities during the period immediately before and after the millennium change. An essential point is the thorough testing of all Office systems between 1 and 4 January 2000. For that purpose the Office will officially be closed on these days.

In accordance with Rule 85 (1) EPC any time limits expiring on the above-mentioned dates will be extended until 5 January 20001.