Article 80

EUROPEAN PATENT OFFICE

Information from the EPO

Notice from the European Patent Office dated 12 October 2018 concerning updated Forms 1001 (request for grant) and 1200 (entry into the European phase)

In line with the President's decision on the filing of priority documents and the notice concerning priority document exchange via the WIPO Digital Access Service (DAS),1 the paper and online versions of EPO Form 1001 have been enhanced to include a request to the EPO as Office of Second Filing (OSF) to obtain a certified copy of the previous application (priority document) from the Office of First Filing (OFF) via DAS. In addition, the EPO has expanded the paper versions of EPO Forms 1001 and 1200 to include checkboxes and text boxes that are already available to applicants in the online versions of these forms.

A. Updates

1. EPO Form 1001

In new section 21.2 the applicant can indicate that a general authorisation has been filed but has not yet been registered. The Receiving Section will record the general authorisation number as soon as it is available.

In new section 25.1 the applicant can request the EPO as Office of Second Filing (OSF) to obtain a certified copy of the priority document(s) from the Office of First Filing (OFF) via the WIPO Digital Access Service (DAS).

In section 25.2 the filing of a request for re-establishment of rights in respect of the priority period under Article 87(1)(b) EPC can be indicated. Applicants are reminded of the requirements under Article 122 and Rule 136(1) EPC which must be observed in order for such requests to be valid. In particular, the fee for re-establishment of rights must be paid, and the substantiated request must be filed within two months of expiry of the priority period under Article 87(1)(b) EPC (Rule 136(1) EPC).

In section 33.2 information concerning the current exclusion of pharmaceutical products from patent protection in Cambodia has been added.2

Sections 34.1a and 34.1b now offer the option of entering relevant details concerning deposited biological material, enabling the applicant to indicate the requirements under Rule 31(1)(c) EPC in EPO Form 1001.

In section 40 applicants can now indicate the application number or publication number of an earlier search report to supplement their request under Article 9(2) RFees.

2. EPO Form 1200

Section 8 has been enhanced to enable the applicant to enter relevant details concerning deposited biological material pursuant to Rule 13bis PCT and Rule 31 EPC.

The wording of sections 9.1 and 9.2 has been updated for clarification.

In section 11.2 information concerning the current exclusion of pharmaceutical products from patent protection in Cambodia has been added.3

B. Notes on EPA/EPO/OEB Forms 1001 and 1200

The notes on EPA/EPO/OEB Forms 1001 and 1200 have been revised to reflect the above updates.

C. Availability of updated paper versions of EPA/EPO/OEB Forms 1001 and 1200 and accompanying notes

The new paper versions of EPA/EPO/OEB Forms 1001 and 1200 as well as the respective notes will be available for download from the EPO website as from 2 November 2018.

Applicants may continue to use previous versions of EPA/EPO/OEB Forms 1001 and 1200 without prejudice to their rights.