Reminder - Abolition of the EPO 10 Day Rule

The European Patent Office (EPO) ‘ten-day rule’ is no longer available.

The amendments to Rules 126(2), 127(2) and 131(2) European Patent Convention (EPC) relate to documents such as decisions, summonses, notices, and communications that the EPO is obliged to notify ex officio in accordance with Article 119 EPC. 

From now on, the date on which any of these documents is deemed to be received is the date on the document itself, whether the document is sent by mail or electronically.  Therefore, the date from which any time limits run is the date on the document itself. 

The amended rules, however, contain safeguards if there are any irregularities in delivery, either by mail or electronically.  The EPO will continue to be obliged to prove that the document was delivered and the date of its delivery.  If the EPO cannot prove that a document has been delivered, it will consider that a time limit for a specific document will not have commenced. It will then reissue the document with a new date and the time limit will begin on that revised date instead.

If you require advice on this subject and how the amendments will affect your business, please contact your patent attorney at Mathisen & Macara LLP.