Article 42

Decision of the President of the European Patent Office dated 8 September 2026 concerning the filing of third-party observations under Article 115 EPC

The President of the European Patent Office (EPO), having regard to Article 10(2)(a) of the European Patent Convention (EPC) and to Rule 114 EPC, as amended by decision of the Administrative Council of 19 March 2026 (CA/D 2/26), has decided as follows:

Article 1

Electronic filing

1. Third-party observations under Article 115 EPC must be filed electronically.
2. Third-party observations may be filed using

1. the form made available by the EPO for that purpose on its website (hereinafter the “online form”),
2. Online Filing 2.0 or the EPO Contingency Upload Service in accordance with the decision of the President of the EPO concerning the filing of documents.¹

Article 2

Filing third-party observations using the online form

1. The receipt of third-party observations filed using the online form will be acknowledged electronically by the EPO during the submission session.
2. A signature is not required when third-party observations are filed using the online form.
3. Where a document filed using the online form is illegible or incomplete, the part of the document that is illegible or incomplete will be deemed not to have been received.
4. Where a document filed using the online form is infected with a computer virus or contains other malicious software, it will be deemed to be illegible. The EPO is not obliged to open or process such a document.
5. Where deficiencies under paragraphs 3 or 4 are detected, the third party, if identifiable, will be informed without delay.

Article 3

Filing third-party observations using electronic filing services

The provisions of the decision of the President of the EPO concerning the filing of documents² that govern the electronic filing services referred to in Article 1(2)(b) apply to the filing of third party-observations using these services.

Article 4

Previous decision superseded

When this decision enters into force, the decision of the President of the EPO dated 10 May 2011 concerning the filing of third-party observations under Article 115 EPC by means of an online form (OJ EPO 2011, 418) will cease to have effect.

Article 5

Entry into force

This decision enters into force on 1 April 2027 and applies to any third-party observations filed on or after that date.

Done at Munich, 8 September 2026

António CAMPINOS

President