Ten-day grace period end from the 1st of November 2023

EPO will end the ten-day grace period from the 1st of November 2023. For communications issued before 1 November 2023, the ten-day rule is still applicable. Communications issued on or after 1 November 2023, these will be deemed notified on the day on which they are issued.

This means that for any deadlines set by communications issued on or after 1 November 2023 applicants and their representatives will not be able to make use of the 10-day rule for filing responses beyond the nominal deadline. Safeguards will be available in cases where a document is not received or received exceptionally late (more than 7 days after the date). In the event of a dispute concerning the delivery of a document, EPO will retain the obligation to prove that the document was delivered and the date of its delivery. EPO adopts these legal changes in support of digital transformation.

Contact your NLO attorney for more information.