Updates to the EPO (European Patent Office) Guidelines officially came into force on 1 April 2025. This article focuses on important changes made to The Guidelines for Examination.
Assistance of artificial intelligence in preparing patent applications and submissions
The updated Guidelines state that a party and their professional representative are responsible for the content of their patent application and of any submissions made at the EPO as well as for complying with the requirements of the EPC (European Patent Convention), regardless of whether a document has been prepared with the assistance of artificial intelligence. The inclusion of this statement in the updated Guidelines reflects the growing presence of artificial intelligence.
Discontinuation of fax as a means of communication with the EPO
Fax-based communication with the EPO was discontinued last year, and the updated Guidelines reflect this change (A-11-1.1.2).
Fee reductions for micro-entities
The updated Guidelines explain the fee reduction for micro-entities (A-X-9.4.1 and A-X-9.4.2). A micro-entity is a micro enterprise (a company with fewer than ten employees and an annual turnover and/or balance sheet below two million euros), natural person, non-profit organisation, university and public research organisation. Micro-entities are entitled to approximately a thirty percent reduction in some fees.
Use of MyEPO
Several sections of the updated Guidelines refer to the use of MyEPO. MyEPO is an online tool for correspondence between a professional representative and the EPO.
In particular, the updated Guidelines include a section (C-VII-2.6) about a shared area that allows interaction between an examiner and an applicant. In the shared area, documents can be confidentially uploaded and jointly edited by the examiner and the applicant to allow discussions on how objections can be addressed.
The updated Guidelines additionally include sections about obtaining fee reductions and refunds in MyEPO (A-X-5.2.7 and A-X-10.3.3) and the issuance of documents electronically in MyEPO (B-X-11).
Artificial intelligence and machine learning
An updated explanation of what is considered artificial intelligence and machine learning is included in the updated Guidelines (G-II-3.3.1). The update no longer refers to classification, clustering, regression and dimensionality reduction as examples of computational models and algorithms.
The updates further provide clarification on the patentability of artificial intelligence and machine learning based inventions. The updates explain that if a claim directed to artificial intelligence and machine learning includes the use of technical means (such as a computer) or a device, the subject matter of the claim has technical character and is not excluded from patentability.
Technical effect for inventive step
The updates explain that technical effects submitted during proceedings can be used to support inventive step (G-VII-5.2). The technical effect does not need to be literally disclosed in the patent application as originally filed, in line with T116/18. However, the technical effect needs to meet the criteria of being “encompassed by the technical teaching” and “embodied by the same originally disclosed invention”, in line with T1989/19.
