The "10-day" rule, which determines how the response deadlines to certain European Patent Office (EPO) communications are calculated, is to be abandoned from 1 November 2023.
This will make the calculation of EPO response deadlines more straightforward but care will need to be taken during a transitional period when the old and new time-limit calculation rules will co-exist.
What is the 10-day rule?
The "10-day"rule that is currently in force is a notification fiction in which a document is deemed to have been delivered 10 days after the date on the document. The deadline in the communication in question then runs from the adjusted/deemed date of delivery.
Example: For instance, if an examination report with a 4 month deadline issued on 1 March 2023 then, under the current rules, the EPO deemed it delivered on 11 March such that the deadline fell on 11 July (instead of 1 July).
What's changing and why?
The 10-day rule was designed to compensate for postal delays but, as most EPO documents are now delivered electronically, the rule has become redundant.
As a result, for documents with a date of 1 November 2023 or later, the 10-day rule will no longer apply and deadlines for response will be calculated from the date on the document.
Example: If an examination report with a 4 month deadline is issued on 6 November 2023 then, under the new rules, it will be deemed delivered on the same day such that the deadline will fall on 6 March 2024.
Since the current 10-day rule does not apply to every document issued by the EPO, the removal of the 10-day rule from 1 November 2023 will make calculation of time limits at the EPO less confusing. However, care will need to be taken during a transitional period.
Take care during Transitional period
The changes to EPO time limit calculation rules will enter into force on 1 November 2023. In other words documents issued up to and including 31 October 2023 will be subject to the current time limit calculation rules (in which the 10-day period applies) but the 10-day rule will not apply for documents issued from 1 November 2023.
This means that there will be a period of overlap between the old and new time-limit calculation rules and care should be taken in the 6 months or so from 1 November 2023 to make sure you are working to the correct rules.
Example:
An exam report with a deadline of 4 months that issues on 31 October 2023 will be deemed delivered on 10 November 2023. The deadline will therefore fall on 10 March 2024.
However, an exam report with a 4 month deadline that issues a day later, 1 November 2023, will be deemed notified on the same day such that the deadline falls on 1 March 2024.
More information on the rule change, including safeguards for documents that encounter "notification irregularities", can be found in the EPO Official Journal at OJ EPO 2023, A29 (https://www.epo.org/en/legal/official-journal/2023/03/a29.html).
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.