Updates on EPC, PCT, EPO case law and the e-EQE

The update of our EPC.App reference book to legal status of 1st November 2022 is completed. Key changes since the last update in April were new Rule 56a and amended Rule 56 EPC, J 8/20 on AI inventors, the EPC accession of Montenegro, the introduction of WIPO Standard ST.26 for sequence listings, and further digitalization steps in EPO proceedings such as the full deployment of Central Fee Payment and MyEPO portfolio.

In the self-editable online version of our EPC commentary, all changes of the update are rolled-out automatically, while personal user annotations from before the update are retained. They can be exported into a customized printable PDF offline version, which may further be ordered as colored paperback via the integrated print-on-demand service. As usual, we also released this 9th edition as standalone softcover books in English or German with same content.

This is a monthly snapshot of the most important PCT-related changes – we include a full list of future changes, together with selected recent changes that are important for daily practice. The changes of 1 Jul 22 will be included in the Sept. 2022 edition of PCT.App.

Some treaty accessions were announced and e-PCT now provides additional recovery options in case of disruption. The biggest future change is still the “big bang” change to the ST.26 standard for sequence listings.

As part of our updating process, we regular monitor the WIPO and EPO websites. See below for the most important PCT-related changes that we are currently aware of. The changes of 1 Jul 22 will be included in the Sept. 2022 edition of PCT.App.

The main themes in 2022 are the “big bang” change to the ST.26 standard for sequence listings, the adoption of more electronic communication, and improved safeguards for online systems.