Annex B.1 to the ADA - Arrangements for online fee payment via My.epoline®
CONTENTS
1. General provisions
2. Authorisation
3. Debiting the deposit account
4. Inspecting the account
5. Withdrawal of authorisation
Appendix: DTD1 for creating the XML2 file for batch payments
1. General provisions
Online fee payment via My.epoline® comprises paying fees and inspecting the account. Unless otherwise stated below, it is governed by the Arrangements for deposit accounts3.
2. Authorisation
2.1 Natural persons who hold a deposit account with the EPO may be authorised to pay fees online via My.epoline®.
2.2 Authorisation occurs on the basis of a signed written request by the account holder and addressed to:
European Patent Office
Branch at The Hague
EPO Customer Services
PO Box 5818
NL-2280 HV Rijswijk
Fax: (+31 (0)70) 340 4600
E-mail: [email protected]
2.3 If the request is filed by fax or e-mail no written confirmation (or signature, in the case of e-mail) is required.
2.4 A further condition for online fee payment via My.epoline® is possession of a valid smart card and reader. This package for secure access to online fee payment is available free of charge from the EPO via the "Enrol" link on the My.epoline® home page.
3. Debiting the deposit account
3.1 Deposit accounts may be debited in respect of fees and costs payable to the EPO and assignable to an application number.
3.2 The account is debited on the basis of the payment data supplied by the user online. Users may issue either an individual debit order covering a single application or a batch debit order covering several.
3.3 The batch debit order must be supplied as an XML file, which should be created using the DTD published in the appendix to this annex.
3.4 Receipt of the debit order is indicated on screen. This confirmation of receipt may be printed out by the user. If a debit order is rejected during transmission due to an automatic check conducted by the EPO server, the user receives an error message and the debit order is regarded as not received and the payment as not made.
3.5. The date of receipt of the payment at the EPO is the day on which a readable and virus-free debit order is received, provided the account contains sufficient funds.
3.6 If the funds are partly insufficient and the debit order relates to multiple payments, these are debited in ascending order of application number.
3.7 If the deposit account is replenished within the time limits laid down in the Arrangements for deposit accounts and an administrative fee of 5% of the short- fall – but not less than euro 150 or more than euro 765 – is paid, then the date of receipt of the debit order is regarded as the date of receipt of payment.
4. Inspecting the account
Online users may check the balance of their deposit accounts, past transactions (for a limited period4) and debit orders filed under My.epoline® but not yet processed, and consult the schedule of fees. The data may also be downloaded.
5. Withdrawal of authorisation
If use of online fee payment via My.epoline® causes difficulties, the EPO may decide to withdraw its authorisation for the service and cancel the smart card.