XI. FILING OF PATENT APPLICATIONS AND OTHER DOCUMENTS
XI.1
Filing of patent applications and other documents by facsimile
Decision of the President of the European Patent Office dated 12 July 2007 concerning the filing of patent applications and other documents by facsimile (OJ EPO 2007, Special edition No. 3, 7)
The President of the European Patent Office, having regard to Rule 2(1) EPC and Rule 92.4 PCT, has decided as follows:
Article 1
Filing of European patent applications
(1) European patent applications may be filed by facsimile with the filing offices of the European Patent Office in Munich, The Hague and Berlin.
(2) European patent applications may also be filed by facsimile with the competent national authorities of those contracting states which so permit.
(3) European patent applications and international applications may not be filed by telegram, teletex or similar means. Applications so filed shall be deemed not to have been received.
Article 2
Filing of international patent applications
(1) International (PCT) applications may be filed by facsimile with the filing offices of the European Patent Office in Munich, The Hague and Berlin.
(2) Where an international application is filed by facsimile, the application documents in due form and the Request (Form PCT/RO/101) shall be filed by post at the same time. The facsimile should state that the application documents have been filed separately on paper.
Article 3
Filing of other documents
After a European patent application or an international application has been filed, documents as referred to in Rule 50 EPC or Rule 92.4 PCT with the exception of authorisations and priority documents may be filed by facsimile with the filing offices of the European Patent Office in Munich, The Hague and Berlin.
Article 4
Signature
Where a document is filed by facsimile, reproduction of the filing person's signature on the facsimile shall in keeping with Rule 2(2) EPC be deemed sufficient to confirm the document's authenticity. The signature must clearly indicate the filing person's name and position.
Article 5
Date of filing of patent applications and date of receipt of documents
(1) The date of filing accorded to a European patent application or international patent application filed by facsimile shall be the date on which the application documents filed by facsimile were received in full at a filing office of the European Patent Office in Munich, The Hague or Berlin, provided these documents satisfy the requirements of Article 80 EPC and Rule 40 EPC or of Article 11(1) PCT.
(2) If the filing process extends beyond midnight and the documents received on the earlier day satisfy these requirements, the date of filing accorded to the application shall be the earlier day, provided the applicant so requests and at the same time renounces those parts of the application received after midnight.
(3) The date of receipt accorded to other documents filed by facsimile with the filing offices of the European Patent Office in Munich, The Hague and Berlin shall be the date on which they were received at the said filing offices.
(4) The foregoing paragraphs shall apply mutatis mutandis to documents filed with the competent national authorities of those contracting states which permit filing by facsimile. However, once the applicant has received the communication under Rule 35(4) EPC from the European Patent Office, all further documents relating to the application may be filed only with the European Patent Office.
(5) European or international patent applications and other subsequent documents filed with the Vienna sub-office shall be forwarded to one of the filing offices, and the date of filing accorded to them shall be their date of receipt at the latter office.
Article 6
Illegible or incomplete documents
Where a document filed by facsimile is illegible or incomplete, or where an attempt to file a document by facsimile has failed, the facsimile shall be deemed not to have been received. The sender, if identifiable, shall be notified without delay.
Article 7
Supplying confirmation of European patent applications and other documents
(1) At the invitation of the European Patent Office department charged with the procedure, paper confirmation of a European patent application filed by facsimile shall be supplied within a period of two months in the form of application documents reproducing the contents of the facsimile documents and complying with the requirements of the Implementing Regulations to the EPC. If the applicant fails to comply with this invitation in due time, the European patent application shall be refused (Article 90(5) EPC, Rule 2(1) EPC).
(2) At the invitation of the European Patent Office department charged with the procedure, paper confirmation of documents filed by facsimile which relate to European patent applications or patents or to international applications shall be supplied within a period of two months in the form of documents reproducing the contents of the facsimile documents and complying with the requirements of the Implementing Regulations to the EPC. If the party concerned fails to comply with this invitation in due time, the facsimile shall be deemed not to have been received (Rule 2(1) EPC, Rule 92.4(g)(ii) PCT).
Article 8
Acknowledgment of receipt
(1) The European Patent Office or the competent national authority of the contracting state concerned shall acknowledge receipt of a European patent application on the form provided for that purpose (EPO Form 1001 (Request for Grant), p. 6). For international applications the European Patent Office shall use EPO Form 1030/1031.
(2) The European Patent Office shall acknowledge receipt of other documents on the form provided for that purpose, which is to be completed by the party concerned (EPO Form 1037 or 1038).
(3) Prompt acknowledgment of the receipt of filed documents shall be assured only if the postal address is given to which such acknowledgment is to be sent.
(4) On request, the European Patent Office shall acknowledge receipt of the documents referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 by facsimile. This shall be subject to payment of an administrative fee. Where immediate acknowledgment of receipt by facsimile has been requested, this shall be assured only if the request and evidence of payment of the administrative fee or a debit order are enclosed with the documents or filed at the same time and the facsimile number is given to which such acknowledgment is to be sent.
Article 9
Previous decisions superseded
Upon entry into force of this decision, the decision dated 6 December 2004 on the use of facsimile for filing patent applications and other documents (OJ EPO 2005, 41) and the notice dated 6 December 2004 concerning the filing of patent applications and other documents (OJ EPO 2005, 44) shall cease to have effect.
Article 10
Entry into force
This decision shall enter into force upon the entry into force of the revised text of the Convention in accordance with Article 8 of the Revision Act.
Done at Munich, 12 July 2007
Alison BRIMELOW
President
XI.2
Decision of the President of the European Patent Office dated 26 February 2009 concerning the electronic filing of documents (OJ EPO 2009, 182)
The President of the European Patent Office, having regard to Rule 2 EPC and Rule 89bis.1 and 2 PCT, has decided as follows:
Article 1
Admissibility of electronic filing
(1) Documents in proceedings under the EPC may be filed with the European Patent Office in electronic form.
(2) European patent applications may also be filed in electronic form with the competent national authorities of those contracting states which so permit.
Article 2
Filing of international patent applications and other documents
International (PCT) applications and other documents relating to international applications may be filed with the European Patent Office in electronic form.
Article 3
Filing of priority documents
Articles 1 and 2 shall not apply to priority documents, unless they have been digitally signed by the issuing authority and the signature is accepted by the European Patent Office.
Article 4
Sequence listings
The provisions governing the filing of sequence listings shall apply mutatis mutandis to applications containing a sequence listing.
Article 5
Electronic filings
(1) Electronic filings of documents shall be made online or on admissible electronic data carriers.
(2) Electronic filings shall be made using the software provided free of charge by the European Patent Office.
(3) Subject to prior approval by the European Patent Office, electronic filings may also be made using other software.
(4) Documents filed on an electronic data carrier shall be accompanied by a paper document identifying the applicant and/or his representative, indicating an address for correspondence and listing the files stored on the data carrier.
Article 6
Packaging of documents
(1) The submissions referred to in Articles 1 and 2 shall be packaged using the software provided free of charge by the European Patent Office.
(2) Subject to prior approval by the European Patent Office, documents may also be packaged using other software.
(3) The Administrative Instructions under the PCT, Part 7 and Annex F, shall apply to the filing of international (PCT) applications and other documents within the meaning of Rule 89bis PCT.
Article 7
Signature
(1) Where filed documents require signature, subject to Article 8 this may take the form of a facsimile signature, a text string signature or an enhanced electronic signature.
(2) A facsimile signature shall be the facsimile reproduction of the filing person's signature.
(3) A text string signature shall be a string of characters, preceded and followed by a forward slash (/), selected by the signatory to provide evidence of his identity and of his intent to authenticate the message in question.
(4) An enhanced electronic signature shall be an electronic signature either issued by the European Patent Office or accepted by it.
Article 8
Document authenticity
(1) The authenticity of documents filed in accordance with Article 5(1) of this decision shall be confirmed by means of the certificates of electronic signatures issued or accepted by the European Patent Office.
(2) The authenticity of documents filed in appeal proceedings (Articles 106 to 112a EPC) in accordance with Article 5(1) of this decision shall be confirmed by means of an enhanced electronic signature of a person authorised to act in the proceedings in question.
Article 9
Date of filing of electronically filed patent applications and date of receipt of electronically filed documents
(1) The date of filing accorded to a patent application filed in electronic form shall be the date on which the application documents thus transmitted were received at the European Patent Office or the competent national authority of the contracting state concerned, provided these documents satisfy the requirements of Article 80 EPC and Rule 40 EPC or of Article 11(1) PCT.
(2) The date of filing accorded to a divisional application filed in electronic form and meeting the requirements of Article 80 EPC and Rule 40 EPC shall be the date of filing of the earlier application.
(3) The date of receipt accorded to documents subsequently filed with the European Patent Office in electronic form under Rule 2 EPC shall be the date on which they were received at the European Patent Office.
Article 10
Acknowledgment of receipt
(1) Receipt of documents filed online in accordance with this decision shall be acknowledged electronically within the submission session by the European Patent Office or the competent national authority of the contracting state concerned.
(2) Where such acknowledgment is not successfully transmitted, the Office shall transmit it by other means without delay, provided it has sufficient information at its disposal.
(3) The acknowledgment shall include the identity of the Office, the date and time of receipt, a reference or application number assigned by the Office, a list of the files transferred, and a hash value (the message digest).
(4) Acknowledgment of receipt shall not imply the accordance of a date of filing.
(5) Documents filed on electronic data carriers shall be subject mutatis mutandis to the provisions governing the filing of documents on paper.
Article 11
Illegible or incomplete documents and infected files
(1) Where a filed document is illegible or incomplete, that part of it which is illegible or incomplete shall be deemed not to have been received.
(2) If a filed document is infected with a computer virus or contains other malicious software, it shall be deemed to be illegible. The Office shall not be obliged to either open it or process it.
(3) Where a filed document is found to be deficient within the meaning of paragraph 1 or 2, the sender, if identifiable, shall be notified without delay.
Article 12
Confirmation through the filing of paper documents
No paper documents need be filed to confirm documents filed electronically in accordance with this decision.
Article 13
Previous decisions superseded
When this decision enters into force, the decision dated 12 July 2007 on the electronic filing of patent applications and other documents (Special edition No. 3, OJ EPO 2007, A.4) shall cease to have effect.
Article 14
Entry into force
This decision shall enter into force on 5 March 2009.
Done at Munich, 26 February 2009
Alison BRIMELOW
President
XI.3
Decision of the President of the European Patent Office dated 31 May 2012 concerning the EPO Online Filing software to be used for the electronic filing of documents
Further to the decision dated 26 February 2009 concerning the electronic filing of documents1, and having regard to Rule 2 EPC and Rule 89bis.1 and 2 PCT, the President of the European Patent Office has decided as follows:
Article 1
Software to be used for electronic filing
(1) Electronic filings in accordance with Article 5 of the above-mentioned decision dated 26 February 2009 must be made using version 5 Service Pack 3.1 (build 5.0.0.057) or later releases of the EPO Online Filing software.
(2) Once this decision has entered into force, electronic filings using releases earlier than version 5 Service Pack 3.1 (build 5.0.0.057) will no longer be accepted by the Office's receiving server.
Article 2
International (PCT) applications
Article 1(2) shall not apply to international (PCT) applications filed in electronic form with the European Patent Office as receiving Office under the PCT. Such applications prepared and filed using PCT-SAFE or releases of the EPO Online Filing software earlier than version 5 Service Pack 3.1 (build 5.0.0.057) will be accepted by the Office's receiving server.
Article 3
Previous decisions superseded
When this decision enters into force, the decision of the President of the European Patent Office dated 8 February 2010 concerning the EPO Online Filing software to be used for the electronic filing of documents (OJ EPO 2010, 226) shall cease to have effect.
Article 4
Entry into force
This decision shall enter into force on 1 March 2013.
Done at Munich, 31 May 2012
Benoît BATTISTELLI
President
XI.4
Electronic signatures, data carriers and software to be used for the electronic filing of patent applications and other documents
Decision of the President of the European Patent Office dated 12 July 2007 concerning the electronic signatures, data carriers and software to be used for the electronic filing of patent applications and other documents (OJ EPO 2007, Special edition No. 3, 17)
The President of the European Patent Office, having regard to Rule 2 EPC and Rule 89bis.1 and 2 PCT, has decided as follows:
Article 1
Electronic signatures
(1) The authenticity of documents filed electronically with the European Patent Office shall be confirmed by means of an enhanced electronic signature.
(2) The certificates of the electronic signature shall be required for the wrapping and enveloping of patent applications and other documents under Article 1 and Article 2(1) respectively of the decision dated 12 July 2007 concerning the electronic filing of patent applications and other documents.
(3) The European Patent Office shall accept certificates issued by the following certification authorities:
- European Patent Office (http://www.epoline.org)
- CERES (http://www.cert.fnmt.es/)
- VRK-FINSIGN (http://www.vaestorekisterikeskus.fi/)
- WIPO (http://www.wipo.int/pct-safe/en/certificates.htm)
Article 2
Data carriers
European patent applications and international (PCT) applications and other documents shall be filed electronically on CD-R discs conforming to the ISO 9660 standard or on DVD-R or DVD+R discs.
Article 3
Original data formats
(1) Technical documents relating to a European or international patent application may be additionally attached to the application in the data format in which they were created, provided the files contain either plain ASCII text or they were created with one of the following word processing programs:
- Microsoft Word 97 and later releases
- Corel WordPerfect 6.1, 8 & 10 and later releases
- Writer of OpenOffice 2.0 and later releases (including the corresponding StarOffice products).
(2) Any objects originating from other programs may be embedded into documents being generated by the word processing programs mentioned in paragraph 1 as long as they can be viewed without loss of the information being contained in these objects.
(3) Technical documents in a format other than those mentioned in paragraph 1 may be attached in that format only if the applicant informs the European Patent Office at the time of filing where it can within reason acquire the relevant software.
Article 4
Entry into force
This decision shall enter into force upon the entry into force of the revised text of the Convention in accordance with Article 8 of the Revision Act.
Done at Munich, 12 July 2007
Alison BRIMELOW
President
1 See OJ EPO 2009, 182.