Final discussions on the 2026 Guidelines

User consultation once again took centre stage at the Working Party on Guidelines (WP/G), part of the Standing Advisory Committee before the European Patent Office (SACEPO), which gathered on 14 October 2025 for its second and final meeting this year on the draft EPC, PCT-EPO and Unitary Patent (UP) Guidelines. Before the summer, the EPO had shared the drafts with SACEPO WP/G members, inviting them to share their feedback. 

The Office received nearly 400 comments and provided users with its extensive written responses before the meeting, where discussions focused on selected items of major importance. When no consensus could be reached or proposals require detailed assessment they will be considered in a later revision cycle.

Key announcements

The EPO will publish all three sets of the 2026 Guidelines in PDF format, thus meeting one of the users’ key priorities. The Office will look into enhancing the visibility of the texts published in the Official Journal between two Guidelines editions. 

Unitary Patent Guidelines  

Regarding the UP Guidelines, users had proposed that the Office provide additional information on the practice before the Unitary Patent Protection Division and clarifications, such as improving the overall structure by creating a dedicated chapter on compensation and by reorganising certain sections. 

EPC and PCT-EPO Guidelines: new chapters, plus impact of decision G 1/24 and G 2/21

A lively exchange with valuable contributions from the SACEPO members took place on the new chapters (XII – XV in Part A of the EPC Guidelines) that provide detailed information on the entry into the European phase. These chapters largely integrate the content of what was previously Part E – IX and the former Euro-PCT Guide. 

Users had made suggestions in light of the recent Enlarged Board of Appeal decision G 1/24 (“Heated aerosol”, interpretation of claims using description and drawings). The extensive discussions on the interpretation and applicability of G 1/24 in specific cases, prompted the Office to closely monitor case law to introduce further clarification in the next revision cycle of the Guidelines. 

Following G 2/21 (“Plausibility”, principle of free evaluation of evidence), as well as a series of recent decisions of the Boards of Appeal, the Office confirmed that two standards for assessing evidence, known as the “up-to-the-hilt” and “balance of probabilities” approaches, are no longer applied. When deciding a case, the deciding body must be convinced that alleged facts have occurred, taking into account all evidence on file. Members welcomed the change.

Guidelines governing the patentability of antibodies and AI-related inventions

While there was broad overall agreement on the draft amendments to the text, members expressed differing views on two main topics: the existing Guidelines governing the patentability of antibodies and artificial intelligence (AI)-related inventions. Regarding antibodies, the Office acknowledged that even if consensus may not yet be within reach, it remains committed to exploring ways to further clarify the section on inventive step and to fostering dialogue with users at a dedicated technical meeting in the spring. 

As for inventions related to AI, the Office maintained its view that the same provisions for the patentability of AI computational models and algorithms apply as for mathematical methods and computer programs. Despite differing views, members expressed appreciation for the Office’s flexible approach to adapt to new technologies, as its long-standing methodology for assessing inventiveness focuses on whether the claimed subject-matter shows a technical effect providing a solution to a technical problem.

The Office will soon publish the full consultation results from this year’s meetings with the SACEPO WP/G on the dedicated webpage below, following their presentation to the Patent Law Committee on 23 October 2025. 

About the Guidelines revision

The EPC, PCT-EPO and the UP Guidelines are revised annually, taking into account Enlarged Board of Appeal decisions, comments received during the annual user consultation conducted in the spring and feedback from the SACEPO WP/G. The 2026 Guidelines will enter into force on 1 April 2026, with a preview version available from February. Once the Guidelines have been published, the public will be invited to provide feedback in public online consultation.