Abolition of the ten days rule and consequences on the calculations of periods

On the 1st November 2023, the ten-day rule will be abolished and documents communicated by the EPO will be deemed to be notified at their indicated date.

Associated periods will thus begin to lapse from the date mentioned on communications by the EPO. These periods expiring inevitably earlier, owners of pending patent applications and their legal representatives will need to adjust their tracking of deadlines.

These changes are part of a policy of adaptation of EPC regulations to the digitization of the procedure of patent granting. Further information available at https://www.epo.org/news-events/news/2022/20221021.html