The new online filing (CMS) is the EPO’s new web service. It allows users to work on and file applications together with other users from the same organisation.
The new online filing (CMS) service is free of charge.
The existing fee reductions for filing in electronic form are also applicable to the CMS.
Anyone with an activated smart card can use the new online filing (CMS). All you have to do is fill in the online registration form. (See “User registration”).
Use the Online registration form for new online filing (CMS).
Once you submit the form, the EPO customer services will process your registration and inform you when you can start using the CMS.
If you have organisation administration rights you can register anyone from your organisation who holds an activated smart card.
The Account Management tab contains an overview of all the registered users in your organisation. All you have to do is select Register new user to my organisation.
You will be able to start using the CMS on the first working day following receipt of the e-mail confirmation from the EPO’s Customer Desk
Yes, you can, provided you have organisation administration rights. This allows you to manage user profiles within the Account Management tab.
You need a smart card to access the CMS. If you already have one for OLF, you can also use it for the CMS.
Yes, with the new online filing (CMS) you need to be logged in with a smart card at all times, including during the signing process.
You can order your smart card online via the EPO’s website. We will send you a starter kit consisting of a smart card and smart card reader.
You can check the functioning of your smart card and certificates as follows:
Click on Start -> Programs -> Gemalto -> Classic Client -> Classic Client Toolbox -> Certificates. You will see the window below, with the reader icons shown.
Please contact EPO Customer Services.
If this happens, please contact EPO Customer Services.
Software certificates are similar to those stored on smart cards, but they are not secured by a hardware mechanism such as the chip on a smart card. The EPO does not at present accept authentication using software certificates.
Yes, the new online filing (CMS) allows user access via associated user role(s).
Yes, the “least privilege principle” is applied when new users and new roles are created.
Yes, sessions are timed out if the user is inactive for a prolonged period.
Owing to technical improvements made with effect from 27 September 2015, you can no longer access CMS using Windows XP in conjunction with either Internet Explorer 8 or Chrome.
To access CMS, either
To file documents online via the new online filing (CMS), you need equipment capable of accepting a USB smart card reader and its software drivers, and an internet browser.
As a web application, this service does not require users to install any applications on their own workstations other than the smart card reader driver (see “What software do I need to install to use the EPO smart card?”).
To set your smart card up, you need to install two software packages:
You can download the most recent version of these software packages at
Gemalto is password-protected. Please contact EPO Customer Services to obtain your password.
Most recent internet browsers are supported by the application, as long as they support the TLS 1.0 protocol to enable HTTPS transactions.
Adobe Acrobat Reader version 11 or higher must be installed on the computer for Online filing to work. No other PDF readers or other versions of Acrobat are supported.
The new online filing (CMS) can only be used online. No offline mode is available.
You could try the Settings and quick access guide for the new online filing (CMS). Alternatively, please contact our Customer Services.
There is no public document on the architecture and technical specifications of the application. User manuals are available either via the tool itself or on the EPO website.
When you are logged in on the new online filing (CMS), simply click on the tab Online Help. You can also consult the User manual from the EPO website.
Please contact EPO Customer Services.
Documents filed via the new online filing (CMS) can be signed by facsimile signature or by text-string signature. Example: /John Smith /
The EPO does not at present accept any applications signed or submitted using soft certificates. This includes applications filed using the new online filing (CMS).
The EPO has developed information security policies and standards that are in line with the ISO 27001:2013 standard. We reassess the compliance of the CMS with these policies before each major new release.
Yes, the EPO integrates security design and testing into the development lifecycle, both internally and when working with recognised third parties.
The new online filing system is a web-based application that does not require access to any external source of information. The only information processed by the EPO is that which has been actively entered and uploaded by the user.
The new online filing (CMS) is a web application. As such, only cookies are stored locally. These merely contain context information used to enhance the user experience in accordance with web development standards.
The use of smart cards means that user credentials can be protected within the cards themselves, and therefore only public keys are stored within the system.
Logs are implemented in accordance with EPO security policies. User transactions and uploaded information are scrutinised from a security perspective (including DDoS, malware, etc...), but the logs do not store any user data. Access to the logs is restricted to accredited employees from the EPO’s information security department, under the authority of the Chief Information Security Officer, and subject to the recommendations and advice of the Data Protection Officer.
With the new online filing (CMS) application you can file EP Form 1001 (EP direct), EP Form 1200 (Euro-PCT), PCT/RO/101 and EP Form 1038 (subsequent actions for all EP and PCT procedures, including PCT Chapter II demand, documents in respect of appeal proceedings and notice of opposition (PDF only)).
No.
Documents which are not allowed to be filed are deemed not to have been received.
The representative must ask for the original documents as submitted to the competent receiving Office and then complete the “Number of pages” section by entering the correct number; any discrepancies with the pamphlet, Article 20 PCT documents received from WIPO or amendments filed will be corrected by the EPO. If the original documents are not available:
Under “Documents”, click on the pencil symbol in the “Document overview” box and three separate windows will subsequently pop up, for “Description”, “Claims” and “Drawings”. Fill them in as follows:
In the Description window, tick the “International application as published” checkbox and type a “1” in the “Number of pages” box. Then click “Next” and the next pop-up window concerning the claims will appear. Here, in the Claims window, type in the number of claims, tick the “International application as published” checkbox and type a “1” in the “Number of pages” box. Then click “Next” and the next pop-up window concerning the drawings will appear. Here, in the Drawings window, tick the “International application as published” checkbox and type a “1” in the “Number of pages” box. Finish by clicking “Next”.
You can start using Form 1038 at any stage, regardless of how you filed your documents previously. The CMS is simply a new channel for sending documents to the EPO.
Yes, in the Documents tab of your application go to the System-generated table, then select Export file. Click on the Download link to trigger the download of a zip file which contains all the documents you submitted to the EPO, including the acknowledgement of receipt from the EPO. These documents can be exported and saved in PDF or XML format.
As from 1 January 2016 applicants are required to use the dedicated request form (EPO Form 1005), which must be filed online.
The EPO will not process requests filed informally, i.e. without using the dedicated form, and/or on paper”.
In CMS, the document (EPO Form 1005) has to be added to Form 1038 by choosing “Request for accelerated search/examinitation” under the document types “Non-public”.
It is not sufficient to request accelerated search/examinitation (PACE) using the Remarks tab in the CMS software.
The UIBM has introduced a new online numbering system. Under the new system, a national patent has a number in the format XXYYYYZZZZZZZZZ, where XX identifies the type of IP concerned, YYYY the year of filing and ZZZZZZZZZ a nine-digit sequential number (e.g. 102014000000158).Users requesting a novelty search for a national patent they intend to file at the European Patent Office must continue to quote the application number in the "old" format, i.e. MI2014A000158.The old application number is easy to find through the national database on the UIBM website using the code search (ricerca per codice).
If you cannot find the old number use the following workaround:
Write “Remarks” in the field foreseen for the number of the priority document
To guarantee compliance, you should ensure that your PDF generator and resulting PDFs meet the following criteria:
To ensure that the PDF files you create will be accepted by the new online filing application you can also use the Amyuni PDF converter. Please contact EPO Customer Services about this.
Under the tabs from page and to page, you should enter the number of pages with claims (e.g. 1-3) and not the sequence number of the pages in the specification document (e.g. 16 -18).
Please ensure that your PDF documents meet the following requirements:
If the problem persists, contact EPO Customer Services or WIPO direct.
To ensure that the PDF files you create will be accepted by the new online filing application you can also use the Amyuni PDF converter. Please contact EPO Customer Services about this.
For more information about PDF, TIFF and JPG formats see the WIPO website
You should first convert the PatXML application (pxml and tiff files) to a single zip file. Then attach this zip file as Specification in XML format to the CMS form.
You can indicate that one or more supplementary international search reports were drawn up in the international phase by mentioning the relevant Supplementary International Searching Authority (SISA) or Authorities in the Remarks field in the EP Phase tab on Form EP 1200. You do not need to file a copy of the supplementary international search report as WIPO will transmit it direct to the EPO.
To confirm that you are an entity within the meaning of Rule 6(4) EPC, simply tick the appropriate check box under Application in EPO Form 1001.
There is a known issue with Windows 64-bit systems running Internet Explorer 11. The Adobe Reader plug-in does not display content in this browser version. We recommend using a 32-bit Internet Explorer version or using the download link to review PDF files.
IE11 has some incompatibility settings with Adobe Reader. We recommend that you use another browser or force IE11 to work in a lower version mode (IE10). This can be done in the developer tools (F12 developer tools, -> Browser Mode IE10).
The same message may appear if the smart card connection is not working. That might happen if the Gemalto software is not installed correctly and/or if the smart card is not inserted in the reader.
If you see this message, you should verify the settings for the SSL and TLS protocols, as shown in the screenshot below.
If you are not prompted to enter your smart card PIN when trying to connect to the CMS, you should check that the Gemalto software is installed correctly.
To access the CMS, the settings need to be updated as follows:
Go to Internet Options and select the Advanced tab.
Check that the options on your browser match the following screen:
Yes. In the Address book tab, select Import from file or Export address book. Note: You must have Address book management enabled in your profile to access this tab.
No. You can simply use "Region/EP" to designate all states.
To create a blank template for an international application, you need to go to the Templates tab and create a "Form PCT/RO/101" from the New template section.
All registered users in the same organisation can all access each other’s applications. Multiple users can access and work in the same application as long as they do not edit the same window.
If more than one user edits the same window of the same application at the same time, the user who saves the window the first will have his/her update saved.
Yes. When a new version is released, the EPO sends out a system message to all new online filing (CMS) users. A pop-up message will be automatically displayed the next time a user will login after the release.
Previous system messages can be consulted from the System messages tab.
Following the entry into force of amended Rule 19 EPC on 1 April 2021, applicants will no longer be required to indicate inventors’ full addresses when designating inventors, but only their country and place of residence. The place of residence is the city or other municipality where the inventor permanently resides, and includes the postal code (where available).
Generated Form 1002 has likewise been amended to no longer show inventors’ full addresses.
The option afforded to inventors to waive their right to be mentioned under Rule 20(1) EPC remains unaffected.
For further information, see EPO OJ 2021, A12.
Please note that if after 1 April 2021 the designation of the inventor is filed with the inventor's full address (i.e. including street name and house number) using an old version of the Online Filing software, that information will be included in the public file as filed (unless Rule 20(1) EPC applies) and will be published in the European Patent Register. Applicants are therefore strongly advised to ensure that they update the Online Filing software to the latest version which will no longer require this information.
For further information, see EPO OJ 2021, A12
Download the latest version.
Following the amendment of Rule 19 EPC with effect from 1 April 2021, the data required to designate an inventor has changed.
For applications that are signed and ready to send but were not submitted before the 1 April 2021 update, any inventor designations under Rule 19 EPC should be removed as attachments. To ensure compliance with amended Rule 19 EPC, the designations will have to be reprocessed before the application can be submitted.
For draft applications that were not signed before the 1 April 2021 update, any inventor designations prepared should be removed as attachments and must be reprocessed.
For further information on the changes to inventor designations, see OJ EPO 2021, A12.
Following the entry into force of amended Rule 19 EPC on 1 April 2021, due to the deletion of paragraphs 3 and 4 inventors will no longer be notified about their designation by the EPO. This means there is no longer the need for inventors to waive their right to be notified.
For further information, see EPO OJ 2021, A12.
Starting with new patches from spring 2021, EPO online services packages, including OLF packages, will be digitally signed.
When you download, "signed" software gives you the assurance that the package is from the European Patent Office and is still valid, and that code has not been tampered with since being published.
EPO digital certificates are issued by the European Patent Organisation and the European Patent Office.
Additionally, when the downloaded executable file is opened, the following alert may appear: "This file does not have a valid digital signature that verifies its publisher. You should only run software from publishers you trust."
Additional information about the file is also shown.
If the package is unsigned, the publisher is shown as unknown.
If the package is signed, but the EPO digital certificates have not been correctly saved in Windows, the publisher is shown as unknown.
If the package is signed and the EPO digital certificates have been correctly saved in Windows with the trusted root certificates, the publisher will be shown as "EPO".
The EPO digital certificates can be downloaded here.
The EPO digital certificates can be downloaded here. Download the files and save locally.
Using Windows Explorer, open the location of the downloaded certificate.
Select the file and right-click to view the following menu:
Left-click Install Certificate to open the Windows Certificate Import Wizard.
NOTE: To install a certificate, administration rights are required.
Select Current User to import the certificate into our personal store or Local Machine (for all users), then Next.
In the Certificate Store, select Place all certificates in the following store and click Browse.
Select the certificate store Trusted Root Certification Authorities and click OK, then Next.
Click Finish to complete the import.
Windows will then show a security message:
Click Yes.
If the import was successful, the following message will be shown:
Click OK to close.
Both EPO digital signatures should be downloaded and imported.
This action does not need to be repeated with each package. Users will be informed when the certificates used to sign EPO online services packages are changed so that they can update the certificates at their end.
Once the EPO digital certificate has been installed, the identity of the software publisher will be shown in the file properties as "EPO".
Additionally, when the downloaded executable file is opened, the alert regarding unsigned executable files is removed.
Users can choose not to install the digital certificates.
Furthermore, users updating via OLF Live Update do not need to take any further action. The file will download and install as normal.
Users choosing to manually download OLF packages from epo.org can choose to install the digital certificates and be able to view the publisher information when installing packages by verifying the digital signature.
Users can also choose to install the digital certificates only centrally and not locally, to verify the digital signature of packages before proceeding with a distributed installation. This means that where a server installation has verified publisher information, thin clients that also have verified publisher information via locally installed digital certificates are not required.
An EPO smart card is not a requirement for the download and installation of EPO digital certificates or for the download of EPO online services packages.
Within the document, go to File => Print and select the Amyuni PDF Converter from the list of printers, then click OK. You will need to give the resulting PDF file a name. The Amyuni PDF Converter is set up as a regular printer and can convert data from any software with printing ability.
You can also use any other PDF converter as long as the resulting PDFs comply with the Annex F standard. By using the Amyuni PDF converter, you can always be sure that your documents are Annex-F-compliant.
You can use PatXML, a software tool which allows you to use Microsoft Word to create EP and PCT patent applications in XML (eXtensible Markup Language) format (technical documents only).
XML applications will be accepted in version 1.11 of the new online filing (CMS).
In the pre-conversion archive you can add the documents (description, claims, abstract, drawings) that you have attached to your application in PDF or XML format in their original format (e.g. MS Word) in a .zip file.
The new version 5.0.1.3 of the Amyuni PDF converter is password protected. Please contact Customer Services for a password.
In the Documents tab, select the type Sequence listing – part of the international application and attach a sequence listing in accordance with Annex C/WIPO Standard ST.25 text format (*.app or *.txt) as part of an international application filed in electronic form, without attaching the sequence listing in *.pdf format.
The number of pages will be automatically set to zero, so that the sequence listing is not added to the number of pages to be paid.
The date of receipt is the date on which you complete the submission process.
A detailed acknowledgment of receipt is immediately available for download in the Documents tab of your application. You can also access it by clicking on the Application number hyperlink.
The application number is immediately displayed at the top of your application and is indicated on the acknowledgement of receipt.
Very occasionally the allocation process may be delayed. If this is the case the application number will be communicated to you later.
