EPC 2000 in force: changes in EP legal status codes

Newsflash 22/2007 

Since the rule numbers have changed with the introduction of the EPC 2000 which came into force on 13 December 2007, we have amended the affected legal status codes. The rules are numbered differently in EPC 2000 compared to the former EPC. Therefore, the references to the rule numbers would have been ambiguous.

Instead of references to the rule numbers, the EPO INPADOC legal status data codes will contain the relevant words of the previously quoted rule.

Here below a few examples (to illustrate the difference between the two versions)

Previous codes

EP R19A      -   SUSPENSION (RULE 13) (CORRECTION)
EP R19U      -   INTERRUPTION (RULE 90) (CORRECTION)
EP R29W     +   RESUMPTION (RULE 90) (CORRECTION)

Amended to

EP R19A      -    STAY OF PROCEEDINGS (CORRECTION) [BEFORE GRANT]
EP R29U      -    INTERRUPTION OF PROCEEDINGS (CORRECTION) [AFTER GRANT]
EP R29W     +   RESUMPTION AFTER INTERRUPTION OF PROCEEDINGS (CORRECTION) [AFTER GRANT]

These new and amended codes will be available in the database from week 51/2007.