As already widely rumoured, the EPO has now confirmed that the “10-day rule” will be abolished from 1 November 2023. From then on, documents issued by the EPO will be deemed to have been notified on the date they bear, and not ten days later (Rule 126(2) EPC).
Rule 127(2) EPC, one of the EPO Rules which will be affected by this change, currently provides that “Where notification is effected by means of electronic communication, the electronic document shall be deemed to be delivered to the addressee on the tenth day following its transmission."
Once the change comes into effect, in the event of a dispute concerning the delivery of a document, the EPO will still have to prove that the document was delivered and the date of its delivery.
The EPO announcement can be found here
