Pages 508-526

INFORMATION FROM THE EPO

Notice from the European Patent Office dated 31 May 1994 concerning revised Form 1200

EPA/EPO/OEB Form 1200 for entry into the regional phase before the EPO as designated or elected Office, and the corresponding Notes1 which have been revised, are reproduced below. Applicants are advised to start using this revised form immediately.

Comments on the amendments

This form differs from the previous version2 as follows:

• The texts in the three official languages have been put into columns for easier use. This new arrangement, together with the addition of new sections, has meant reorganising the form and renumbering some of the sections.
• Section 11 (new) covers the extension of European patents, which is also possible in Euro-PCT procedures3.
• Section 12 (new) allows EPO deposit account holders to issue automatic debit orders, following a corresponding amendment to the Arrangements for deposit accounts and the adoption of the Arrangements for the automatic debiting procedure4.
• In Section 13 (new), applicants can give details of EPO deposit accounts into which any reimbursements may be paid.
• Section 7 (previously Section 5) on the filing of translations and Section 6 specifying the documents on which proceedings before the EPO are to be based have been revised.

Section 6 should make it easier to establish which documents applicants wish to form the basis of proceedings before the EPO (e.g. test reports received by the EPO as International Preliminary Examining Authority). It should also ensure that the correct number of copies of each document is submitted. However, even in its revised form Section 6 cannot cover every conceivable permutation, and applicants may occasionally have to submit further details on a separate (signed) sheet.

For technical reasons, the forms embedded in this article are only available in the PDF version.