When the 31‑month deadline for European phase entry falls on or after 1 April 2026, simply paying the fees before that date may not be sufficient because the EPO does not start processing a Euro-PCT application before the 31-month time limit (Rule 159(1) EPC) has expired.

To ensure that the lower pre‑increase fees remain applicable, applicants should consider submitting a request for early processing under Article 23(2) or 40(2) PCT. Only when such a request is filed on or before 31 March 2026 will the EPO process the entry early, allowing the lower fees to apply. Applicants with PCT applications approaching the end of the international phase should therefore review their timelines carefully and, where appropriate, file a request for early processing to avoid unintended exposure to higher fees.

Der Beitrag Euro-PCTs and EPO fee increase erschien zuerst auf meier ip.

As of 1 October 2025, the EPO permits the electronic filing and processing of drawings in color and grayscale. This change, set out in the Decision of the President (OJ EPO 2025, A49) and the accompanying Notice (OJ EPO 2025, A57), represents a departure from the long‑standing requirement that drawings be submitted exclusively in black and white line form. The new framework provides applicants with greater flexibility in the preparation of visual disclosures, particularly in areas where colour conveys technical information that cannot readily be expressed through conventional monochrome illustrations.

The EPO processes the color drawings throughout the Office’s internal workflows. This includes their extraction and preparation for deposit with the WIPO Digital Access Service. Practitioners should be aware, however, that downstream Offices may apply their own technical constraints when retrieving documents via WIPO DAS. Where an accessing Office does not yet support the processing of colour drawings, it may convert such documents to black and white as part of its intake procedure.

Applicants relying on color to convey essential technical content are therefore advised to consider whether jurisdictions of interest can accommodate such material without loss of information.

Der Beitrag Color drawings and WIPO DAS erschien zuerst auf meier ip.

Der Beitrag Search and Examination Matters 2026 erschien zuerst auf meier ip.

PACE will remain available only for the examination phase, allowing applicants to speed up the issuance of the first examination report and communications under Rule 71(3) EPC. A revised Form 1005 will be introduced in 2026 for examination acceleration requests. Other acceleration options, such as the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH), remain unaffected.

Der Beitrag EPO Discontinues PACE for Search erschien zuerst auf meier ip.

Der Beitrag Quantum Innovation erschien zuerst auf meier ip.

The Enlarged Board confirmed its previous decision G 3/04 and concluded that, after withdrawal of all appeals, appeal proceedings may not be continued with a third party who intervened only during the appeal proceedings (see the EPO’s Press Communiqué of 25 September 2025).

Der Beitrag G 2/24 – intervener in appeal proceedings erschien zuerst auf meier ip.

Der Beitrag EPO User Day 2025 erschien zuerst auf meier ip.

It is the EPO’s practice that the description must be aligned with amended claims. I.e., when claims are amended, the description should be adapted accordingly to reflect these changes, avoid contradictions, and maintain a coherent disclosure.

At least one Board of Appeal has previously voiced doubts as to whether there is a legal basis for this practice, as previously reported in this blog section.

Considering recent case law from the Enlarged Board (G 1/24, point 20), it would be surprising if the Enlarged Board took the position that the EPO’s practice on adaptation of the description had no legal basis. The adaptation of the description also appears to be dear to many in EPO management, who seem to regard consistency of description and claims to be a KPI for the ongoing patent quality discussion.

Der Beitrag Referreal on adaptation of description erschien zuerst auf meier ip.

Der Beitrag EPO Case Law Book (11th ed.) erschien zuerst auf meier ip.

Many useful and valuable resources on G 1/24 are already available online, such as:

• The EPO’s Press Communiqué of 18 June 2025
• The IPKat’s review of the decision
• The Kluwer Patent Blog’s review of the decision

While the headnote of G 1/24 stipulates that the description is to be taken into consideration for claim interpretation in proceedings before the EPO, this does not mean that clarity issues in the claims can be resolved by simply referring to the description. Point 20 of G 1/24 highlights “… the importance of the examining division carrying out a high quality examination of whether a claim fulfils the clarity requirements of Article 84 EPC. The correct response to any unclarity in a claim is amendment.”

Der Beitrag G 1/24 – claim interpretation erschien zuerst auf meier ip.