5.3. Safeguards in case of late delivery

Where a document has been delivered exceptionally late, a new safeguard introduced in the last sentence of revised R. 126(2) EPC and R. 127(2) EPC will apply. In particular, if the EPO cannot show that a document has reached the addressee within seven days of the date it bears, the relevant period will be extended by the number of days by which these seven days are exceeded. See notice from the EPO of 25 November 2022 concerning legal changes to support digital transformation in the patent grant procedure (OJ 2022, A114) and notice from the EPO of 6 March 2023 concerning amended R. 126, 127 and 131 EPC (OJ 2023, A29).