Quality Action Plan 2026

The European Patent Office (EPO) is committed to delivering excellence throughout the patent granting process.  User insights from across our feedback channels have played a crucial role in shaping the latest Quality Action Plan. This year’s plan defines targeted actions that will build on progress made in 2025 and further strengthen quality. Clear, challenging, regularly updated KPIs will allow all stakeholders to track progress. 

Building on the achievements of 2025

This is the third year that the EPO has publicly shared its internal Quality Action Plan. In 2025, we saw the visible, positive impact of several actions taken to improve quality. The 2026 plan continues this work, setting out further concrete actions to support the delivery of quality products and services that provide legal certainty for users, in line with the Strategic Plan 2028. It builds on the achievements of last year, which included ensuring our examiners continue to have access to the latest prior art and benefit from cutting-edge industry intelligence through conferences, trade fairs and our new Industry Lectures series.

Also in 2025, throughout the patent granting process, we maintained our human-centric approach to leveraging the power of AI. Here, highlights included the rollout of the Legal Interactive Platform to all MyEPO users and the successful piloting of AI-assisted minute-taking in oral proceedings.

Meanwhile, since implementation in November 2023, our three-person Active Search Divisions have delivered more than 550 000 searches and written opinions, driving collaboration and better, more complete assessment of patentability early in the procedure. Last year, the positive impact of this approach became clear in quality audits, User Satisfaction Survey results and user feedback.

In response to user requests, the 2025 Stakeholder Quality Assurance Panels (SQAPs) included the first-ever session on opposition, complementing regular yearly sessions on search and written opinions and on grants. The findings of these panels fed directly into the Quality Action Plan 2026. The plan was also shaped by insights from the Standing Advisory Committee before the EPO (SACEPO) and its various working groups, by meetings with applicants and user associations, and by User Satisfaction Survey results, quality audits, Boards of Appeal decisions and other internal data.

Investing in people, training and reskilling

The Quality Action Plan 2026 prioritises actions that ensure the EPO remains at the cutting edge of developments across all areas of expertise, especially where rapid advances in technology increase the need for technical training. Highlights include expanding our Industry Lectures series, conference visits and targeted reskilling, complemented by new Science and Technology Forums and by targeted knowledge sharing events, in which Boards of Appeal members play a key role.

Leveraging AI and advancing digital transformation

We will continue to harness new technologies to support the correct and consistent application of the European Patent Convention (EPC) and Guidelines, simplify workflows and strengthen transparency. Upcoming highlights include a new drafting tool with integrated AI assistance that enables seamless transitions from search to examination and final action. AI capabilities will continue to be embedded in our core tools, including the EPO’s powerful search tool ANSERA. For users, we will deliver a redesigned MyEPO, expanded self-service options and full DOCX end-to-end filing.

Improving the completeness and accuracy of search and written opinion

Further improvements in our search products will be achieved by providing access to even more diverse sources of prior art and embedding best practices learned through experience with Active Search Divisions. We will enhance the EPO’s collection of non-patent literature and strengthen the consistency of approach for applications with computer implemented invention (CII) and AI features. We will also ensure early assessment of compliance with EPC provisions for divisional applications and improve coverage of fallback positions in the written opinion.

Ensuring complete, correct and consistent examination

Assessment of added subject-matter will be improved through targeted learning from opposition decisions and quality audits, and a balanced application of the EPC will be ensured across technical areas. We will also improve consistency in the handling of third-party observations by harmonising the level of detail that divisions provide in their assessments.

Strengthening opposition procedures

The focus here will be on harmonising the application of the problem-solution approach for inventive step by deepening our learning from Boards of Appeal decisions. In addition, we will implement tailored actions to address the SQAPs findings for specific technical areas.

Timeliness targets – bringing certainty to the market

Timeliness is crucial to competitors and society, and it will continue to be an area of focus for the EPO. We will work towards the timeliness goals set out in SP2028 across search, examination and opposition, with a strong focus on opposition. We will tighten the timeline for first-filing searches for national offices from 7 to 6 months, and for examination we will set a more ambitious target of 75% of standard grants on time (previously 70%).

Developing our partnerships – listening and responding

We will continue to engage with large applicants, SMEs, universities and public research organisations. We will also continue to listen to and act on the feedback and rich insights we gather from our numerous channels open to users and experts around the world.