Article 72

EUROPEAN PATENT OFFICE

Information from the EPO

Notice from the European Patent Office dated 13 May 2020 revising its Notices dated 1 April 2020, concerning oral proceedings and interviews to be held by videoconference, and 14 April 2020, concerning the pilot project for oral proceedings by videoconference before opposition divisions

Since the Notice from the European Patent Office dated 1 April 2020 concerning oral proceedings and interviews to be held by videoconference (OJ EPO 2020, A40) and the Notice from the European Patent Office dated 14 April 2020 concerning the pilot project for oral proceedings by videoconference before opposition divisions (OJ EPO 2020, A42) were issued, the decision of the President of the European Patent Office dated 13 May 2020 has established that documents filed during telephone consultations and during interviews and oral proceedings held by videoconference (Rule 50 EPC) must be filed by email. The reference to the possibility of filing by fax during videoconferences is therefore to be removed from these two notices.

1. Section 9 of the Notice from the European Patent Office dated 1 April 2020 concerning oral proceedings and interviews to be held by videoconference is to be amended to read as follows:

"9. Submission of documents

During interviews and oral proceedings held by videoconference, documents must be filed by email.1 The chairperson or, in the case of an interview, the first examiner will provide the applicant or representative with the email address to be used at the beginning of the oral proceedings or the interview."

2. Section 7 of the Notice from the European Patent Office dated 14 April 2020 concerning the pilot project for oral proceedings by videoconference before opposition divisions is to be amended to read as follows:

"7. Documents and their transmission

During oral proceedings held by videoconference, documents must be filed by email.¹ The opposition division will provide the parties with the email address to be used at the beginning of the oral proceedings.

Any documents filed by one of the parties will be transmitted to the other parties by electronic means, by forwarding the email with its attachments. Therefore, each party must communicate to the chairperson at the beginning of the oral proceedings the email address it wishes to use for receiving copies of such documents."

3. The present notice will become effective on 14 May 2020.

4. A consolidated version of the amended notices will be made available for information purposes.