Time Is Running Out For The EPO's 10-Day Rule

Stakeholders accustomed to having "ten more days" to respond to a communication from the European Patent Office will have to update their calendaring systems for documents dated on or after November 1, 2023. This is because the European Patent Office ("EPO") is abolishing its "10-day rule" such that all response periods will be measured from the date printed on the document, effectively ending the 10-day grace period.

EPO Deadlines Measured from "Delivery" Date

While most USPTO deadlines are measured from the date the Office Action was issued by the USPTO, many EPO deadlines are measured from the "delivery" date of an EPO communication. As many applicants and practitioners know, the EPO has long considered a document to be "delivered" ten days after the date printed on the document. This gives rise to the so-called "10-day rule" which effectively functions as an automatic 10-day grace period for responding to certain EPO communications. For example, under the