Is the shared area a new EPO filing tool?
No. Documents uploaded to or jointly edited in the shared area are not considered as having been filed with the EPO or notified by the EPO. As the personal consultation is informal, any statements made orally during the consultation or entered using the shared area chat function must be confirmed in writing to be procedurally effective (see Guidelines C-VII, 2.3).
If, following the informal consultation using the shared area, an additional filing is deemed necessary, it should be done using the usual channels.
In the case of consultations relating to amendments agreed immediately prior to completing the Rule 71(3) communication, these amendments may be reflected by the examiner in that communication without the need for additional filing (see Guidelines C-VII, 2.4).