EUROPEAN PATENT OFFICE
Information from the EPO
Corrigendum, OJ EPO May 2016 (A42)
The notice from the EPO concerning the opposition procedure as from 1 July 2016 as published in the Official Journal (OJ EPO 2016, A42) stated in the first sentence of the last paragraph of section 1 that the evidence indicated may only exceptionally be submitted subsequently. As this sentence could be understood as the application of a stricter approach by the EPO regarding the submission of such evidence, the last paragraph of section 1 has been redrafted as follows:
The evidence indicated may also be submitted subsequently. If the opposition is admissible, the opponent will be invited to supply such evidence as a rule within two months. If the documents thus requested are neither enclosed nor filed within the time limit set, the opposition division may decide not to take into account any arguments based on them (Guidelines D-IV, 1.2.2.1(v)).
This correction has been already made in the HTML and PDF versions of the Official Journal, with an editorial note clearly indicating where it was made. The officially certified PDF for the May issue has been exchanged.