Article 43
EUROPEAN PATENT OFFICE
Information from the EPO
Notice from the European Patent Office dated 14 May 2021 concerning the decommissioning of the EPO's filing service new online filing (CMS)
The EPO's filing service new online filing (CMS) (hereinafter "CMS") will be decommissioned with effect from 1 January 2022.1 It will be replaced by the EPO's new web-based filing service Online Filing 2.0, which was launched on 1 April 2021.2 Online Filing 2.0 incorporates and improves the features of CMS, covers all procedures before the EPO, including procedures before the Boards of Appeal, and offers a more user-friendly interface.
CMS will continue to run in parallel to Online Filing 2.0 during a transitional period expiring on 31 December 2021, after which CMS will cease to be available.
Users are encouraged to start using Online Filing 2.0 as soon as possible, and to make it part of their daily routine. It is accessed via the EPO's website with a smart card registered specially for it. Smart cards registered for CMS have been automatically registered for Online Filing 2.0 since 1 April 2021.
Users with data stored in CMS will need to transfer data they wish to avail themselves of in Online Filing 2.0 before the end of the transitional period on 31 December 2021. As of 1 January 2022, data stored in CMS will no longer be accessible. Straightforward export and import functions make it easy to transfer the address book, draft submissions and submission templates stored in CMS to Online Filing 2.0. Users should note, however, that while CMS supports the export of submitted submissions, including submission packages and receipts, Online Filing 2.0 does not permit the import of such data.
Additional information on the practical aspects of registration and rights administration for Online Filing 2.0 and data migration is available on the EPO's website.
The revised decision of the President of the European Patent Office concerning the electronic filing of documents3 will cover the electronic filing services available from the EPO as of 1 January 2022, namely EPO Online Filing, Online Filing 2.0 and the EPO's web-form filing service. It will incorporate the decision of the President of the European Patent Office dated 12 July 2007 concerning the electronic signatures, data carriers and software to be used for the electronic filing of patent applications and other documents4, while updating the original data formats accepted by the EPO (Article 3 of the decision). The decision of the President of the European Patent Office dated 14 May 2021 concerning the electronic filing of documents is without prejudice to other means of filing such as filings made by facsimile5 or using ePCT.6
1 Decision of the President of the European Patent Office dated 14 May 2021 concerning the electronic filing of documents (OJ EPO 2021, A42).
2 Decision of the President of the European Patent Office dated 3 March 2021 concerning the electronic filing of documents (OJ EPO 2021, A20); notice from the European Patent Office dated 3 March 2021 concerning the launch of EPO's new filing service Online Filing 2.0 (OJ EPO 2021, A21).
3 Decision of the President of the EPO dated 24 October 2014 concerning the filing of international applications with the EPO acting as receiving Office using ePCT filing, OJ EPO 2014, A107; notice from the European Patent Office dated 23.09.2016 concerning the online filing of subsequently filed documents under the PCT, including the demand under PCT Chapter II, OJ EPO 2016, A78.
4 Decision of the President of the EPO dated 20 February 2019, OJ EPO 2019, A18.