EUROPEAN PATENT OFFICE
Fees
Decision of the President of the European Patent Office dated 13 July 2021 concerning revision of the Arrangements for deposit accounts (ADA)
The President of the European Patent Office, having regard to Articles 5(2) and 7(2) of the Rules relating to Fees, has decided as follows:
Article 1
Point 5.1.1 ADA shall read as follows:
"5.1.1 Debiting occurs only on the basis of an electronic debit order signed by the account holder or the authorised representative. The signature may take the form of a text string signature, a facsimile signature, an enhanced electronic signature, or authentication with smart card if payment is made via Online Fee Payment or Central Fee Payment in Online services.
The debit order may be
- a debit order for individual fees for one or more applications, i.e. a single or a batch debit order, or
- an automatic debit order for a specific European or international patent application, authorising the EPO to debit fees automatically as the proceedings progress."
Article 2
Point 5.1.2 ADA shall read as follows:
"5.1.2 The debit order must be filed in an electronically processable format (XML) via one of the following:
- EPO Online Filing or online filing (CMS) using EPO Forms 1001E, 1200E, 2300E or 1038E, or Online Filing 2.0 using EPO Forms 1001E, 1200E or 1038E;
- EPO Online Filing or PCT-SAFE, CMS, and ePCT using the PCT fee calculation and payment feature or Online Filing 2.0 using the PCT fee calculator and payment feature with Forms PCT/RO/101 and PCT/IPEA/401;
- Online Fee Payment or Central Fee Payment in Online services.ʺ
Article 3
Point 5.3 ADA shall read as follows:
"5.3 Validation and rejection of payments in Online Fee Payment and Central Fee Payment"
Article 4
This decision enters into force on 11 September 2021. It applies to debit orders filed as of that date.
Done at Munich, 13 July 2021
António CAMPINOS
President