Wednesday, November 01, 2023 No more 10 days :(

Overview of notification and time-limit calculation rules before and after 1 November 2023

Application of the transitional provision

Today, amended Rules 126(2)/127(2)/131(2) EPC entered into force, abandoning the 10-day legal fiction for deemed notification as applicable for time limits triggered by a notification, and replacing it by the date of dispatch and a compensation for late receipt (similar as in PCT Rule 80.6).

See:

• OJ 2022, A101 Decision of the Administrative Council of 13 October 2022 amending Rules 46, 49, 50, 57, 65, 82, 126, 127 and 131 of the Implementing Regulations to the European Patent Convention (CA/D 10/22), article 1.10-12, art 2 second sentence and art 3 second sentence
• OJ 2022, A114 Notice from the European Patent Office dated 25 November 2022 concerning legal changes to support digital transformation in the patent grant procedure, section IV.
• OJ 2023, A29 Notice from the European Patent Office dated 6 March 2023 concerning amended Rules 126, 127 and 131 EPC