25.04.2014
Institut der beim Europäischen Patentamt zugelassenen Vertreter Institute of Professional Representatives before the European Patent Office Institut des mandataires agréés près l'Office européen des brevets
Online Communications Committee Report Antero Virkkala, Chair
1
Activities, spring 2014 Amendments after EPO’s change of practice CMS (Case Management System) PDF conversion issues eDrex (electronic Druckexemplar)
2
1
25.04.2014
Handwritten Formal amendments EPO notification Nov. 8th, 2013 requires formally compliant (not handwritten) amendments for documents that will form part of an application or patent This change of practice applies to written and oral proceedings before the examining division
3
Handwritten Formal amendments Concerns raised by the OCC No prior consultation (with OCC) (Some consultation within a SACEPO WP, where the EPO promised to ensure sufficiency of equipment and support personnel)
Old cases (eg Euro-PCT) may have poorly OCR’d versions from esp@cenet
4
2
25.04.2014
Handwritten Formal amendments Response from the EPO Accepted criticism over lack of consultation Equipment/staff adequate by Summer 2014 Daily checks of paper/toner have been put to place
EPO FAQ clarifies some issues Formal documents only required at conclusion of OP, if agreement reached
EP-A or EP-B specifications available via online publication server at https://data.epo.org/publication-server/. Format and quality vary (depending on age)
Amendments may be overlaid (in typescript) on page images from PDF documents, using PDF editing software, if the EPO can OCR the documents 5
Handwritten Formal amendments Options for producing compliant documents during OPs A. Use laptop to create PDFs, carry to EPO printers B. File online to EPO server via EPO WLAN C. Instruct clerical staff to perform B D. Carry your own printer to the EPO E. In exceptional circumstances, file next day (power cut, extra long proceedings, ...)
6
3
25.04.2014
CMS (Case Management System) New web-based communication system Scheduled to fully replace eOLF in 2017 Restricts EPO’s willingness to improve eOLF
Currently in pilot to registered volunteers First real application filed via CMS from Finland (15 Jan 2014) V. 1.6, due in summer 2014, will support templates
2.0, due in summer 2015, 1st version recommended for general use Will start a 2-year transition period (both systems co-exist)
7
PDF conversion issues PPT PDF
Correct, not accepted
PPT Amyuni PDF
Incorrect, accepted
8
4
25.04.2014
PDF conversion issues What exactly is the error? How serious?
9
PDF conversion issues No bullet-proof way to create PDFs which accurately reproduce source file and are accepted by eOLF/CMS Amyuni: distorted contents, accepted by EPO software Others (eg built-in, ”Save as PDF”): correct, not accepted
“Annex F” errors given without any basis in Annex F eg a mixture of portrait and landscape orientations or use of colour or grayscale in drawings
Filing software should never refuse to deliver a document to the EPO
10
5
25.04.2014
PDF conversion issues Response from the EPO Initially retreated into denial mode
“Amyuni is not the only converter that makes errors” “EPO has invested heavily into Amyuni” “Isolated cases, not traced to Amyuni” Use XML (which is a character-based format) EPO cannot change Annex F single-handedly Lack of detailed error messages “a user experience decision”
Problems recognized during meeting EPO suggested PDF/A as an alternative format OCC fails to see how this solves the problems as eOLF/ CMS require Annex F
Minutes from EPO still deny that problems exist 11
PDF conversion issues Medium-to-long-term solution CMS release 2, summer 2015, “will not require PDF” Accepts text in Word, drawings in JPG, PPT, Corel, ... OCC asked to be consulted wrt to acceptable formats
No satisfactory solutions for the short term Need for helpful error messages recognized But we are in transition from eOLF to CMS (eOLF may receive maintenance releases only)
12
6
25.04.2014
eDrex (electronic Druckexemplar) Produced with eDrex tool by examiners at 71(3) stage editor manipulates PDF documents, which encode text on a page-by-page basis in cases with facsimile images only, annotates text and moves passages around by manipulating parts of the facsimile image addition pages (2a, …) inserted where necessary a parallel “clean copy” for viewing page count (fee calculation)
Annotated eDrex text, once approved, constitutes authentic text of patent OCR errors between 71(3) approval and printed specification are correctable
Neither the clean copy nor the B1 spec is authentic text
13
eDrex (electronic Druckexemplar) Concern raised by the OCC If eDrex tool or the examiner introduce errors, these errors, if accepted, will not be correctable after grant formerly Applicant was sent a facsimile of the submitted pages, with clearly visible amendments by the examiner. it might be more difficult to spot errors in pages produced by eDrex attorneys need to be more vigilant in checking the eDrex
14
7
25.04.2014
eDrex (electronic Druckexemplar) Detailed issues Which is the authentic text? not within core competence of OCC we gladly delegate this issue to other epi bodies
Marking/indication of amendments OCC will work with the EPO to ensure that amendments will be clearly indicated
Proposed work-around Re-submit specification/claims if badly OCR’d and if an editable version is now available 15
Institut der beim Europäischen Patentamt zugelassenen Vertreter Institute of Professional Representatives before the European Patent Office Institut des mandataires agréés près l'Office européen des brevets
Thank you for your attention!
16
8
