EPO will no longer issue paper versions of Form 1201 from November 1, 2023

EPO will no longer issue paper versions of Form 1201 from November 1, 2023

As we all know, any patent application that specifies EP in the PCT application will, without exception, receive Form 1201 issued by the EPO when the 31-month period expires. Even if the applicant does not intend to enter the European national phase, he will receive Form 1201. 1201 notice. Applicants who have missed 31 months to enter the European national phase can continue their European national phase application by "requesting further processing" within 2 months from receipt of this notification. As a foreign applicant, it usually takes a long time to receive this paper version of the notification, so you can regret your actions of not entering the EP country.

However, starting from November 1, 2023, the EPO will stop issuing the paper version of Form 1201. Stopping the issuance of this paper notice will save the EPO 500,000 pieces of paper, bringing it closer to achieving the carbon neutrality goal in 2030. One step forward. For all relevant information on Form 1201, users can go to the EPO’s new website www.epo.org to view it. Form 1201 also assigns European patent application numbers to all designated EP patent applications. Applicants can inquire through the following channels:

- If using the EPO online submission service, it will be included in the confirmed receipt.
- Once the international application is published, it can also be obtained by entering the international application number or publication number through the European Patent Register.