Release notes archive

European Patent Register main improvements: 

1. Introduction of information on supplementary protection certificates (SPCs) for Unitary Patents 

In addition to the information provided in the INPADOC data section of the EP Legal status view, the Register for unitary patent protection, pursuant to Rule 16(1)(v) UPR, now provides information about decisions of the Unified Patent Court (UPC) or national courts on the validity of SPCs or the extension of SPCs in the Supplementary Protection Certificate(s) section of the UP About this file view.  

The SPC entries for Unitary Patents are: participating member state country code, SPC number, date of issuance, i.e. date of grant of the SPC, date of expiry, date of the decision on the validity (provided by the UPC or national courts) and purport of the decision on the validity (valid, invalid) (see Figure 1). 

Figure 1. Supplementary Protection Certificate(s) section of the UP About this file view (mock-up). 

For more information, please refer to the help files. 

2. Improvement in the EP Patent family view as regards Unitary Patents (EP C0)  

The EP Patent family view will now provide Unitary Patents, denoted by the type code “C0”, as a family member (see Figure 2). 

In addition, the Global Dossier icon of the EP C0 patent family member will point to the UP All documents view, and the EP C0 patent number will be hyperlinked to the EP C0 record in Espacenet. 

Figure 2. EP Patent family view with the EP C0 family member (mock-up – only English version available). 

This release also includes other improvements that are not visible to the user. These improvements are not mentioned here. 

European Patent Register - new release

The new November 2023 version of the European Patent Register lets you choose whether to download all or only some of the documents to a zipped archive file. In the EP All documents and UP All documents panel views, select Zip Archive to download the selected documents (Fig. 1). The documents are downloaded to a zipped archive as separate PDF files (Fig. 2).

Unitary Patent Register - Release notes

The Register for Unitary Patent protection (UP Register) has been fully integrated into the European Patent Register since the official launch of the Unitary Patent system on 1 June 2023. The first Unitary Patent (UP) data are expected in the Register on 8 June 2023.

Further enhancements to the UP Register may be required. Email us if you have any questions at support@epo.org.

Unitary Patents and the European Patent Register

1.     Search for Unitary Patents 

From 8 June 2023 you can search for UP data in the European Patent Register using Smart or Advanced search (see May 2023 Register release notes and Help).

To filter on granted patents for which unitary effect has or has not been requested or registered, use the operators: 

• yes or true, or
• no or false

in the Advanced search fields:

• Unitary effect request date and/or
• Unitary effect registration date

or in Smart search using the new UP field identifiers:

• ufd (unitary effect request date) and/or
• urd (unitary effect registration date)

Alternatively, you can enter a date to retrieve the patents you're interested in.

2.     Search results view

The Search results view now has a Unitary Patent column. Here, there is a blue icon (UP identifier) for patent applications where unitary effect was requested (with the request date) and where unitary effect was registered (with the registration date) - see Fig. 1.

The Unitary Patent column is empty for applications, for patents where no request for unitary effect was filed, and for patents granted before the UP system entered into force.

Selecting the blue icon will take you to the UP Register UP About this file view.

Select Export to export this and all other columns in the Search results view.

Fig. 1: Unitary Patent column in the Search results view

3.     New Register structure 

From 8 June 2023, the Register navigation bar has two new chapters:

• European procedure
• Unitary Patent

The letters "EP" or "UP" tell you whether a view is EP- or UP-related – see Fig. 2.

a)    The Unitary Patent chapter has the UP About this file, UP Event history and UP All documents views, and is visible when the European patent is granted and unitary effect requested. The first granted European patents for which unitary effect has been requested are expected in the Register on 8 June 2023.

b)    The Unitary Patent chapter is greyed out for granted European patents where unitary effect has not been requested in the first month after the mention of the grant of the European patent is published in the European Patent Bulletin.

c)    The Unitary Patent chapter is not shown for applications and for European patents granted before UP legislation came into force.

Fig. 2: A) Unitary Patent chapter with UP views, B) Unitary Patent chapter greyed out, C) no Unitary Patent chapter displayed

4.     The Unitary Patent Register – panel views 

a)    UP About this file
Rule 16 of the Rules relating to Unitary Patent Protection specifies the entries that must be made in the Register. These and other entries are shown in the UP About this file view - see Fig.3:

Fig. 3: UP About this file sections for entries specified in Rule 16 of the Rules relating to Unitary Patent Protection and some others.

b)    UP Events
The UP Events view displays UP-related events only. You can find a list of UP events on the All events tab under Register Events.  

c)    UP All documents
The UP All documents view displays only UP-related documentation and correspondence. It includes the document on "Early requests for unitary effect" during the transition period, as well as the decisions of the Unified Patent Court (UPC).  

5.        Unitary Patent "C0" marker 

The "C0" marker next to the publication number in the UP Register views identifies a European patent for which unitary effect is registered - see Fig. 4.

Fig. 4: "C0" marker after unitary effect is registered

6.     The European procedure chapter – panel views 

The European procedure chapter also contains UP-related information. 

a)    EP About this file 

• From 8 June 2023, the blue UP-identifier icon in the Designated contracting states section (linking to the UP About this file view) will indicate patents where unitary effect has been requested or registered - see Fig. 5.

Fig. 5: Designated contracting states section

• From 1 June 2023, the new Opt-out from the exclusive competence of the Unified Patent Court section provides a link to the record in the Register of the Unified Patent Court for opt-out data - see Fig. 6.

Fig. 6: Opt-out from the exclusive competence of the Unified Patent Court section

• The Lapses during opposition section displays the Unitary Patent and the lapse date.

b)    EP Legal status 

• The Designated contracting states section displays the new "Unitary Patent" entry (along with the blue icon linking to UP About this file) and the lapse date (if applicable).
• The INPADOC data section contains INPADOC UP events. 

c)    EP Federated Register 

• The new EP C0 section provides a link to the UP About this file view when the UP is registered as well as the status of the Unitary Patent and a list of the Member States covered by Unitary Patent protection - see Fig. 7.

Fig. 7: EP Federated Register view

d)    EP Patent family

• The new EP C0 patent family member is listed with a link to Espacenet EP C0 contents. 

e)    EP All documents

• Documents related to a request for deferred publication during the transition period are accessible in this view. It contains only the documentation and correspondence related to the European granting procedure. 

European Patent Register – new release

A new version of the European Patent Register was released in May 2023. Various changes have been made, including the addition of Unitary Patent (UP)-related features.

Please note that even if UP-related features are now available in the European Patent Register, they will not be fully operational until 1 June 2023, when the UP system starts. 

UP-related features added in the May 2023 release

1.     UP Register help files 

Register Help now includes content related to the new Unitary Patent Register. It explains the information that will be provided there. See Fig. 1.

We invite you to read the help files before the new UP system starts, to familiarise yourself with it.

Fig. 1: Unitary Patent Register help

2.     Advanced search interface

a)    The Advanced search interface now has two new search fields (see Fig. 2):

        - Unitary effect request date
        - Unitary effect registration date

Searching in these fields will only produce results as of 1 June 2023.

Fig. 2: Unitary effect search fields in the Advanced search interface

b)    The tooltips for the search fields Applicant(s)/Proprietor(s) and Representative have been updated for the UP (see Fig. 3). These fields will produce results for Unitary Patents as of 1 June 2023.

 Fig. 3: Tooltip for the Applicant(s)/Proprietor(s) search field

3.     European procedure panel views

All the European procedure panel views are now identified by the prefix EP (see Fig. 4).

Fig. 4: European procedure panel views

4.     Register Alert 

Register Alert now has a new profile under Preferences - Monitoring Profiles called Unitary Patent events. It will automatically inform you of UP events for monitored applications and be operational once the UP system comes into force (see Fig. 5). The other profiles will also cover UP events from this date.

Fig. 5: Unitary Patent events profile in Register Alert

5.     Unitary Patent events 

The Register Events page now lists the possible UP events once the UP system comes into force, under the All events tab (see Fig. 6).

Fig. 6: Unitary Patent events

These events are now also included in the XML files downloadable from the same page (see Fig. 7).

Sequence listings in ST.25 txt format

From 1 November 2022, you can view and download sequence listings filed in ST.25 txt format from the All documents view of the Register. This will make it easier to search, process and disseminate sequence listings.

When available, these files are identified as Sequence listing in the All documents view, and a dash is indicated instead of a number in the Number of pages column.

You can download ST.25 sequence listings from the Register via Selected documents or Zip Archive. In both cases, the sequence listing will be downloaded in a zipped file to the local file system. 

If you select and download other documents in addition to the sequence listing, the other documents will be downloaded together in a single PDF file when you use Selected documents or individually as a collection of PDF files when you use Zip Archive. See the examples below.

Montenegro becomes a contracting state

On 1 October 2022 Montenegro (ME) will quit being an extension state and become a contracting state.

This new development will result in various changes in a number of panel views in the European Patent Register.

About this file

If an application was filed in Montenegrin (CNR), this will now be displayed in the Filing language section (see Fig. 1), and Montenegro (ME) will appear in the Designated contracting states section (see Fig. 2).

Figure 1. About this file: Montenegrin as filing language

Figure 2. About this file: Montenegro as a designated contracting state

Legal status

If designated, Montenegro (ME) will appear in the Designated contracting states section  (see Fig. 3).

Figure 3. Legal status: Montenegro as a designated contracting state

Federated register

If designated, Montenegro (ME) will appear in the Designated contracting states list in the National patent registers section under Federated register (see Fig. 4).

Figure 4. Federated register: Montenegro as a designated contracting state

ST.26 XML sequence listings

From 1 July 2022, you will be able to view sequence listings filed in ST.26 XML format and download them as a ZIP file (Sequence listing in ST.26 (.XML)) in the European Patent Register's All documents view (see examples in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2).

Fig. 2 View of ST.26 XML sequence listing

For more information, please refer to the Help files.

Improvements in the European Patent Register

1. In line with user wishes, the following complementary information on appeals during examination or opposition procedures is now available in the sections About this file and Event history:
   • date of payment of the appeal fee
   • date of despatch of the decision of the board of appeal
2. With effect from 1 July 2020, the date of stay/interruption and/or the date of resumption for PCT applications not yet in the European phase is (are) published in accordance with the decision of 27 March 2020 amending Rule 142(2) EPC (Interruption of proceedings).

Improvements in the European Patent Register

1. In line with user wishes, the following complementary information on appeals during examination or opposition procedures is now available in the sections About this file and Event history:
   • date of payment of the appeal fee
   • date of despatch of the decision of the board of appeal
2. With effect from 1 July 2020, the date of stay/interruption and/or the date of resumption for PCT applications not yet in the European phase is (are) published in accordance with the decision of 27 March 2020 amending Rule 142(2) EPC (Interruption of proceedings).

A single Register Alert account now allows you to monitor up to 5 000 files (previously only 1 000).

We have placed a page limit on downloads via the All documents view (file inspection). This is to avoid performance and out-of-memory issues caused by the high number of download requests.

A restriction on the number of pages that can be downloaded is set to a maximum of 2 000 pages per download (Zip Archive or Selected documents).

Please note that if you use Zip Archive to download, the complete file will be downloaded, and not just the individual documents selected.

Patent documents, European patent applications (A documents) and specifications of granted European patents (B documents), containing more than 2 000 pages (including sequence listings) can be downloaded from the Publication Server.

• URLs to the European Patent Register can now be based on either the EP application number or the EP publication number. Before, only the EP application number could be used.
• The online help has been improved with a revised and expandable/collapsible index, which also includes additional topics (e.g. legal status and RSS feeds).
• For PCT applications, a new event has been added to indicate changes to the applicant/inventor before the European phase (event name: "Change - applicant or inventor").
• In the Register Alert service, the maximum number of characters in the description field for monitored applications has been increased from 50 to 100.

Global Dossier - individual and patent family member RSS feeds now available for patent monitoring

For some years now RSS feeds have been available for monitoring changes in EP dossiers, in the "All documents" section of the European Patent Register. Hovering over the RSS icon turns it red and clicking on it subscribes to the RSS feeds, allowing you to receive alerts on changes to the file (Fig. 1).

Fig. 1 RSS feed - EP dossier

With the new European Patent Register release, the RSS feeds have been extended to Chinese dossiers of an INPADOC family member of an EP document. The RSS feed icon is located on the Global Dossier page of the State Intellectual Property Office of the People's Republic of China (SIPO) (Fig. 2).

Fig. 2 SIPO Global Dossier RSS feed

For a given European patent application you can access, within the Patent family section of the European Patent Register, its INPADOC patent family members and, for the participating countries, their dossiers via the Global Dossier link (see the help files for Global Dossier coverage).

RSS feeds are now available for patent family dossiers of an EP document, allowing you to receive alerts on dossier changes for EP and CN family members. Clicking on the RSS family dossiers icon turns it red and subscribes you in one move to changes in EP and CN dossiers, e.g. when new dossiers are added to any of the files (Fig. 3).

Fig. 3 RSS feed - family dossiers

In the future, the individual and family-based RSS alerts will be extended to the rest of the EP INPADOC family members of the patent offices participating in Global Dossier.

European Patent Register new features/improvements

1. Extension of the Global Dossier service

The Global Dossier service has now been extended to encompass further authorities participating in the WIPO CASE initiative.

In addition to patent application dossiers ("file wrappers") from the world's five largest patent offices, it now also includes public dossiers from the Canadian Patent Office as well as PCT applications.

• More information on Global Dossier.

2. Status history now available

In addition to the active status of an application, the European Patent Register now displays the status history of an application in the About this file panel view if you click the "Show history" button.

(a) Active status

(b) Active status + history of statuses

The "Status updated" date is the date when the status was last changed.

The status history is also provided as part of the XML data retrieved using the ST36 download functionality.

3. Date on which responsibility passes to the examining division

Within the framework of the "Programme for accelerated prosecution of European patent applications" (PACE), the date on which responsibility for an application passes to the examining division will be now notified via the European Patent Register for the sake of transparency and to help users requesting accelerated examination. ^[1] Accelerated examination can, in principle, be requested at any time once responsibility for the application has passed to the examining division.

Information on the date on which responsibility passed to the examining division is now displayed in the "EP About this file" panel view - in the "Examination procedure" section - and in the "EP Event history" panel view of the European Patent Register.

EP About this file

EP Event history

Here the following events can be displayed:

• Application deemed to be withdrawn
• New entry
• Change

[1]See Rule 10 EPC and Guidelines for Examination in the EPO, C-II, 1.

The Federated European Patent Register Service, available from within the European Patent Register, collects data from the designated contracting states "on the fly" and assembles it in a single display.

This display shows a minimum set of bibliographic and legal status data for European patents in the post-grant or "national" phase as retrieved by the EPO from the national registers of the designated states concerned.

The service can be accessed by clicking on the "Federated Register" link in the left-hand panel when viewing the patent document details.

The overview page is divided into three sections.

I. Details of your selected patent document are shown at the top of the overview. These include:

• Title
• Application and publication number
• Applicant name
• International Patent Classification (IPC)

II. This part shows bibliographic and legal status information from the national registers of the designated states that support the Federated Register service. You can get quick and easy access to the corresponding record in the national register by clicking on the country codes (not available for all countries).

See the help files for more information on the data provided.

III. This section shows all the designated contracting and extension states, irrespective of whether or not they support the Federated Register service. Where available, deep linking is provided for access to further data and information. Once the validation agreements are in force, designated validation states will also be displayed in this section.

Please note that the EPO does not accept any responsibility for the accuracy or quality of the data displayed, including but not limited to their completeness or fitness for specific purposes. For authoritative information, please refer to the relevant national patent authority.