Safeguard measure: Excess page fees on ST.25 sequence
listings included as part of a divisional application to be waived
by the EPO.
Following the implementation of WIPO Sequence standard ST.26,
the EPO has required that new divisional applications filed on or
after 1 July 2022 require a sequence listing in the ST.26 format,
even when the parent application contained an ST.25 standard
compliant sequence listing. This practice has been met with concern
from practitioners regarding the risk of added subject matter.
To address the concerns around the risk of adding or losing
subject matter, the EPO has announced a new safeguard measure. The
safeguard measure permits applicants to file the parent
application's ST.25 sequence listing in PDF format as part of
the divisional application. Importantly, the ST.25 pages included
as a safeguard are excluded from the page fee calculation.
Alternatively, the divisional application may be filed by reference
to the parent
