Notice from the European Patent Office dated 24 April 2023 concerning the expansion of electronic notification via the Mailbox to documents in proceedings related to European patents with unitary effect
Electronic notification of a range of communications, summonses and decisions issued in proceedings before the EPO is provided through the Mailbox.1
The EPO is committed to enabling electronic notification of all communications to all parties and in all proceedings. Therefore, from 1 June 2023, the date of entry into force of the Unitary Patent system, the EPO will notify documents in proceedings related to European patents with unitary effect electronically via the Mailbox.
Communications, summonses and decisions2 in proceedings related to European patents with unitary effect will be notified electronically via the Mailbox where the addressee has activated this service. The Mailbox clearly displays the type of document received as well as its date of transmission and receipt. An integrated, configurable folder system facilitates file management.
Under the current legal framework, an electronic document is deemed to be notified on the tenth day after its transmission to the addressee's Mailbox (Rule 20(2)(f) UPR in conjunction with Rule 127(2) EPC).
On 1 November 2023, amended Rule 127(2) EPC3will enter into force. Under the revised rule, electronic notification is deemed to occur on the date of the document,4 which under established EPO practice is the date of its electronic transmission.
1 Details of how to request registration for the Mailbox and a tutorial on how to use it are available at epo.org/applying/online-services/mailbox.html.
2 A list of the relevant documents is available at epo.org/applying/online-services/mailbox/updates.html.
3 CA/D 10/22 of 13 October 2022, OJ EPO 2022, A101.
4 For further details, see the notices from the European Patent Office dated 25 November 2022 concerning legal changes to support digital transformation in the patent grant procedure, OJ EPO 2022, A114, and 6 March 2023 concerning amended Rules 126, 127 and 131 EPC, OJ EPO 2023, A29.