European Patent Register
Languages
Entries in the EPR are made in the three official languages of the EPO (A14(8) EPC) even though the entry in the language of the proceedings shall prevail.
Competence
The Legal Division is responsible for any decision relating to an entry in the EPR (A20(1) EPC).
Entries in the EPR
The following particulars are recorded in the EPR (A127 EPC together with R143(1) EPC):
- the number of the European patent application (R143(1) a) EPC);
- the filing date of the application (R143(1) b) EPC);
- the title of the invention (R143(1) c) EPC);
- the classification of the application (R143(1) d) EPC);
- the designated Contracting States (R143(1) e) EPC);
- the designation of:
- the applicant or the proprietor in accordance with R41(2) c) EPC (R143(1) f) EPC) as well as any changes to the name of the applicant or the proprietor upon submission of supporting documents (Guidelines E-XIII 4);
- the inventors (unless waived in accordance with R20(1) EPC) (R143(1) g) EPC);
- any representative (only the first or the designation of the group of representatives, as applicable) (R143(1) h) EPC);
- particulars concerning the priority (R143(1) i) EPC);
- the number of any divisional applications (where applicable) (R143(1) j) EPC);
- where the application is a divisional application or a new application filed in accordance with A61(1) b) EPC, in respect of the earlier application (R143(1) k) EPC):
- the number of the European patent application;
- the filing date of the application;
- particulars concerning the priority;
- the date of publication (R143(1) l) EPC):
- of the application and
- of the European search report;
- the date of the request for examination (R143(1) m) EPC);
- the date on which the application is refused, withdrawn or deemed to be withdrawn (R143(1) n) EPC);
- the date of publication of the mention of the grant of the European patent (R143(1) o) EPC);
- the date of lapse of the European patent in a Contracting State (R143(1) p) EPC):
- during the opposition period and
- where applicable, until the opposition decision has become final;
- the date of filing of the notice of opposition (R143(1) q) EPC);
- the date and nature of the decision on the opposition (R143(1) r) EPC);
- the dates of suspension and resumption of the proceedings (R143(1) s) EPC);
- the dates of interruption and resumption of the proceedings (R143(1) t) EPC);
- the date of re-establishment of rights, provided that an entry has been recorded under letters n) or r) (i.e. revocation of a patent in opposition or application refused, withdrawn or deemed withdrawn, R143(1) u) EPC)
;
Furthermore, there are other entries provided for by the President of the EPO (R143(2) EPC together with « Decision of the President of the European Patent Office, dated 15 July 2014, concerning entries to be made in the European Patent Register« , OJ 2014, A86):
- the fact, where applicable, that no opposition was filed,
- the possible date of correction of the patent specification,
- the date of dispatch of a supplementary European search report,
- the date of dispatch of the first communication from the examiner,
- the date of receipt of the request for re-establishment of rights (restitutio in integrum),
- the rejection of the request for re-establishment of rights (restitutio in integrum),
- the designation of:
- the opponent,
- the representative of the opponent,
- the list of new documents discovered after the establishment of the ESR,
- for PCT applications for which the EPO is the designated Office:
- the international filing number,
- the international publication number, and
- the international publication date.
- the date on which a request for limitation or revocation of the European patent was filed,
- the designation of the requester filing the request for limitation or revocation,
- the date on which a petition for review by the Enlarged Board of Appeal was filed,
- the designation of the requester filing the petition for review,
- the number of the petition for review,
- the date on which a divisional application is refused, withdrawn or deemed to be withdrawn, if this results in its non-publication,
- the date of dispatch of the first communication from the examining division relating to the earliest application (if issued before 1 April 2014),
- date of dispatch of a communication from the examining division to which are attached the results of the search under Rule 164(2) EPC.
End of possibility for entry
Entries may only be made until the end of the opposition period or until the conclusion of the opposition proceedings (Guidelines A-XI 4).
However, there are certain exceptions:
- if a request for limitation/revocation is filed, entries may be made during this procedure until its conclusion;
- the correction of an inventor may be made at any time (Guidelines A-XI 4).
Time of entry
If the entry relates to a decision subject to appeal, it shall only be entered in the EPR at the end of the appeal period or, in the event of an appeal, at the decision on the appeal (Guidelines E-XII 1).
Consultation of the EPR
Extracts from the EPR may be requested in return for an administration fee (A3(1) RFees together with the « Schedule of fees and official fees« , supplement to OJ 3/2012 point 2.1.5): [montant_epo default= »40 € » name= »Schedule of fees and official fees – Extract from the European Patent Register »].
However, other means of access are available free of charge:
- Register Plus (website, containing more information than the register, « Notice from the European Patent Office dated 15 August 2006 concerning the modalities of public inspection and online consultation of the European Patent Register« , OJ 2006, 535);
- On-site consultation at the Munich office, via terminals made available to the public;
- By telephone at the Munich, The Hague, Berlin, or Vienna offices (Guidelines A-XI 4).
Public inspection
Opening for public inspection
Principle
The file is open for public inspection from the date of publication of the patent application (A128(4) EPC).
Consultation prior to publication of the application
By the applicant
The applicant may inspect a file prior to publication (A128(1) EPC).
This inspection is possible online via the Mailbox function (« Notice from the European Patent Office dated 13 December 2011 concerning online services of the EPO« , OJ 2012, 22 and Guidelines A-XI 2.5).
By a third party
A third party may access a file:
- if the applicant gives consent (A128(1) EPC), or
- if that third party provides evidence that the applicant has « availed itself » of its European patent application against it (A128(2) EPC).
- this is the case if the applicant invokes a patent application (e.g., US) claiming the priority of this European patent application (J14/91 and Guidelines A-XI 2.5);
- if the evidence is not provided together with the request, the EPO invites the third party to furnish this evidence within a specified period, failing which the request will be rejected (Guidelines A-XI 2.5);
- the applicant then has the right to know the identity of the third party submitting this request (Guidelines A-XI 2.5);
- the applicant is heard in order to decide on the request: in case of dispute, a decision is issued (subject to appeal), likely by the Legal Division (Guidelines A-XI 2.5).
Special case of divisional applications
If a divisional application or an application filed under A61(1) EPC is published, the file of the parent application is accessible to all (A128(3) EPC, i.e., even if it has been withdrawn).
Documents open to public inspection
Principle
Normally, the following are open to public inspection (A128(4) EPC together with R145 EPC) and may be communicated (R146 EPC) (Guidelines A-XI 2.1):
- any document arising from the examination procedure;
- any document arising from the opposition procedure;
- any document arising from the appeal procedure;
- the search stage opinion.
The following also form part of the documents open to public inspection:
- the EESR (A127 EPC);
- third-party observations (Guidelines A-XI 2.1);
- all documents exchanged with the EPO, in particular correspondence with the Quality Support Department (QSD), which may be of interest to third parties (T1691/15).
Exclusion
Are excluded from public inspection (R144 a) EPC to R144 c) EPC):
- documents concerning the withdrawal or exclusion of members of the Boards of Appeal or of the Enlarged Board of Appeal;
- draft decisions and notifications, or documents serving their preparation;
- documents concerning the designation of the inventor where the inventor has waived the right to be mentioned.
Furthermore, the following are also excluded (R144 d) EPC together with « Decision of the President of the European Patent Office, dated 12 July 2007, concerning documents excluded from public inspection« , OJ 2007, Special Edition No. 3, J.3, A1):
- ex officio:
- medical certificates;
- documents relating to
- the establishment of priority documents,
- procedures for public inspection,
- or information taken from the files,
- requests to exclude documents from public inspection;
- requests for accelerated search and accelerated examination under the « PACE » program (if submitted using EPO Form 1005 or a separate document).
- upon reasoned request by a party or their representative (or ex officio if the condition below is evident):
- if public inspection would prejudice personal or economic interests (T1534/16) of natural or legal persons that need to be safeguarded.
If a request is filed to exclude a document from public inspection, such documents are provisionally excluded until a final decision is issued (« Decision of the President of the European Patent Office, dated 12 July 2007, concerning documents excluded from public inspection« , OJ 2007, Special Edition No. 3, J.3, A1).
If a document bears the mention « confidential » while not being excluded from public inspection, it is returned to its sender (T516/89 and Guidelines A-XI 2.3).
If it is requested that a document be excluded from public inspection (e.g., because it would disclose trade secrets) while it could inform the public about the patent, the exclusion request must be rejected (T2522/10).
Public Inspection Procedure
Free Access
Procedure
A third party may freely inspect the file:
- online (via Register Plus, « Decision of the President of the European Patent Office, dated 20 February 2019, concerning the modalities of public inspection« , OJ 2019, A16);
- via the issuance of a paper copy or electronic medium if the file exceeds 100 pages (« Decision of the President of the European Patent Office, dated 20 February 2019, concerning the modalities of public inspection« , OJ 2019, A16).
It should be noted that it is no longer possible to inspect the file on-site in paper format but only on the computers made available.
Official Fee
Inspection online or on-site is free of charge (« Schedule of Fees and Official Fees« , supplement to OJ 3/2012, point 2.1.6) as is the issuance of the file in paper format (« Notice from the European Patent Office, dated 20 February 2019, concerning the revision of the administration fees of the European Patent Office and various related decisions of the President of the Office« , OJ 2019, A15).
Communication of Documents
Procedure
Upon request, the EPO may provide:
- a copy of the documents in the file (R145(1) EPC); or
- information contained in the file (R146 EPC).
The timeframe for obtaining these copies is generally 4 weeks (« Decision of the President of the European Patent Office, dated 20 February 2019, concerning the modalities of public inspection« , OJ 2019, A16).
Request
There is no specific formal requirement for the request under A128(4) EPC (although a possible form exists, Guidelines A-XI 2.2).
It must be filed with one of the EPO filing offices and include an indication of payment of the official fee (see below) (Guidelines A-XI 2.2).
Requests submitted by fax or via the Internet do not need to be confirmed (Guidelines A-XI 2.2).
This request is placed on file but in a part that is not accessible to the public or to the applicant/proprietor (Guidelines A-XI 2.4).
Official fee
An official fee must be paid for each copy (R146 EPC together with the « Schedule of fees and official fees« , supplement to OJ 3/2012 point 2.1.7) or for the requested information (R145(1) EPC together with the « Schedule of fees and official fees« , supplement to OJ 3/2012 point 2.1.9):
- [montant_epo default= »50 € » name= »Schedule of fees and official fees – paper copy delivery for the first 100 pages »] for the first 100 pages;
- [montant_epo default= »0.5 € » name= »Schedule of fees and official fees – paper copy delivery per page beyond 100″] for each page from the 101st page;
- [montant_epo default= »4.5 € » name= »Schedule of fees and official fees – fax transmission in Europe »] in addition for a fax transmission in Europe;
- [montant_epo default= »6 € » name= »Schedule of fees and official fees – fax transmission outside Europe »] in addition for a fax transmission outside Europe;
- [montant_epo default= »40 € » name= »Schedule of fees and official fees – Extract from the European Patent Register »] for the communication of information contained in the file.
The EPO may require the requester to use free inspection (rather than communication of documents), particularly due to the volume of information to be provided (Guidelines A-XI 3).
File retention
The EPO retains files for 5 years at least after the end of the year in which (R147(4) EPC):
- the application was refused, withdrawn or deemed withdrawn;
- the patent was revoked by the EPO;
- the patent expired in all designated states (i.e., one year after the last annual fee payment).
However, the « Notice from the European Patent Office dated 1 June 1990 concerning the retention of files relating to European patent applications and European patents« , OJ 1990, 365 states that files subject to an appeal or opposition procedure are retained for 25 years from the filing date.
If a file is destroyed, it can no longer be inspected, even if the European Patent Register remains accessible. Any payment of an official fee for file access will then be refunded, as it was paid without cause (« Notice from the European Patent Office dated 1 June 1990 concerning the retention of files relating to European patent applications and European patents« , OJ 1990, 365).
Destruction of the file is not recorded in the European Patent Register (« Notice from the European Patent Office dated 1 June 1990 concerning the retention of files relating to European patent applications and European patents« , OJ 1990, 365).
Issuance of Certified Copies of the File
Upon request, a certified copy of the patent application, the specification, or documents in the file may be provided to the applicant or third parties (if, of course, public inspection is possible) (Guidelines A-XI 5 and « Decision of the President of the European Patent Office, dated 20 February 2019, concerning the modalities of public inspection« , OJ 2019, A16).
Official fees for certified copies are then charged (« Decision of the President of the European Patent Office, dated 20 February 2019, revising the amounts of the fees and official fees of the European Patent Office« , OJ 2019, A14): [montant_epo default= »50 € » name= »Schedule of fees and official fees – issuance of certified copies of an application »] per document.