Article 41

EUROPEAN PATENT OFFICE

Information from the EPO

Notice from the European Patent Office dated 10 June 2025 concerning access to captured multimedia citations in the digital file in MyEPO

From 1 July 2025, users of MyEPO can inspect captured online multimedia citations for European patent applications and European patents in their portfolio by accessing the digital file.

1. Information contained in publicly available online multimedia disclosures, such as audio or video clips, forms part of the state of the art within the meaning of Article 54(2) EPC and may therefore be cited in proceedings before the EPO. In recent years, the significance of such online multimedia citations for examination and opposition proceedings has grown steadily, and this trend is expected to continue.

2. Online multimedia disclosures are by their very nature temporary, and they usually contain proprietary information subject to copyright. Balancing these considerations, the EPO has established a practice of taking captures of these disclosures in their original environment as a digital solution to preserving evidence of their content and of their public availability whenever they are cited in proceedings before it (Guidelines for Examination in the EPO, B-X, 11.6, and G-IV, 7.5.6).

3. The EPO is now launching a new service that builds on and enhances its existing practice as regards granting access to captured multimedia citations. Access was previously given only if the captured material was no longer available online, but the EPO is now leveraging its suite of services to provide parties with access more efficiently, while at the same time safeguarding information subject to copyright.

4. If you use MyEPO, you can inspect all citations, including any online multimedia citations captured by the EPO, at any time throughout the proceedings by accessing the digital file of the European patent application or European patent concerned in MyEPO. However, you can only access captured multimedia citations for applications and patents in your own portfolio. Cited documents, including captured online multimedia citations, are each given a unique XP number.

5. If you are a party to proceedings and you do not use MyEPO, you can request access by submitting a written request via one of the admitted means of electronic filing1 during the proceedings relating to the European patent application or European patent concerned. Alternatively, parties who do not use MyEPO and third parties may request access via the EPO contact form.2 Your request should indicate the number of the patent application or patent concerned and include your email address. It should also specify the multimedia citation you would like to be given access to and indicate its original source (i.e. the URL) to enable the EPO to determine whether or not the multimedia disclosure is still available online.

6. If the multimedia disclosure is indeed no longer available online, the EPO will send you an email with a link to a secure digital transmission tool where you can access the capture.

7. Please note that access to captured multimedia citations is provided solely for the purposes of file inspection under Article 128 EPC and does not confer any right to further disseminate or propagate their content.