OJ EPO 2009, 3-suppl - ARRANGEMENTS FOR DEPOSIT ACCOUNTS (ADA) AND THEIR ANNEXES

(valid as from 1 April 2009)

CONTENTS

Decision of the President of the European Patent Office dated 31 January 2009 concerning the publication of a revised version of the Arrangements for deposit accounts and their annexes

Notice from the European Patent Office dated 31 January 2009 concerning the publication of a revised version of the Arrangements for deposit accounts and their annexes

Arrangements for deposit accounts (ADA)

Annex A.1: Arrangements for the automatic debiting procedure (AAD)

Annex A.2: Information from the EPO concerning the automatic debiting procedure

Annex B.1: Arrangements for Online Fee Payment via My.epoline

Appendix to Annex B.1: DTD for creating the XML file for batch payments

Annex B.2: Arrangements for debiting deposit accounts by diskette

Appendix to Annex B.2: Particulars to be supplied in the batch debit order

Annex C.1: Administrative Agreement dated 5 April 1993 between the EPO and the epi

Annex C.2: Notice re debiting of epi annual subscrip- tions from deposit accounts held with the EPO

Decision of the President of the European Patent Office dated 31 January 2009 concerning the publication of a revised version of the Arrangements for deposit accounts and their annexes

The President of the European Patent Office,

Having regard to Articles 5(2) and 7(2) of the Rules relating to Fees,

Having regard to the Decisions of the Administrative Council of 14 December 2007 and of 9 December 2008 amending the Rules relating to Fees 1,

Having regard to the Decisions of the Administrative Council of 6 March 2008 and of 21 October 2008 amending the Imple- menting Regulations to the European Patent Convention 2,

has decided as follows:

1. The Arrangements for deposit accounts and their annexes are herewith revised in the texts annexed to this decision 3.

2. This revised version shall enter into force on 1 April 2009 and supersedes the version of the Arrangements for deposit accounts and their annexes dated 28 August 2007 (Supplement to OJ EPO No. 10/2007).

Done at Munich, 31 January 2009

Alison BRIMELOW President

1 See OJ EPO 2008, 5 and 10 respectively, and OJ EPO 2009, 7. 2 See OJ EPO 2008, 124 and 513 respectively. 3 See p. 5 ff. below. See also the Notice from the EPO dated 31 January 2009 concerning the publi- cation of a revised version of the Arrangements for deposit accounts and their annexes (p. 2 below).

Notice from the European Patent Office dated 31 January 2009 concerning the publication of a revised version of the Arrange- ments for deposit accounts and their annexes

The 2009 fee structure 1 introduces for European patent applications filed and international applications entering the European phase on or after 1 April 2009 an additional fee, payable as part of the filing fee, for the 36th and each subsequent page of the application, a single flat designation fee for one or more contracting states designated, a two-tier structure for claims fees and a single flat fee for grant, including the fee for publication of the European patent specification. These new fees have been incorporated into the automatic debiting procedure with effect from the same date. The Arrangements for the automatic debiting procedure (AAD) 2 (see especially points 3 and 6 AAD) and the accompanying Information from the EPO concerning the automatic debiting proce- dure 3 have been amended accordingly 4.

Further changes in this revised version of the Arrangements have been made to clarify the debiting procedures or take account of developments in practice and technical advances since the previous version entered into force. The following points in particular may be noted.

As a rationalisation measure and in response to user demand, priority is now given to the processing of automated payments from deposit accounts (point 5.3

1 See in particular Decision of the Administrative Council of 14 December 2007 (OJ EPO 2008, 10), Decision of the Administrative Council of 6 March 2008 (OJ EPO 2008, 124), Decision of the Adminis- trative Council of 21 October 2008 (OJ EPO 2008, 513) and Decision of the Administrative Council of 9 December 2008 (OJ EPO 2009, 7). See also the Notice from the EPO dated 26 January 2009 concerning the 2009 fee structure (OJ EPO 2009, 118). 2 See ADA Annex A.1, p. 14 ff of this supplement.

3 See ADA Annex A.2, p. 26 ff of this supplement.

4 This revised version of the Arrangements for deposit accounts and their annexes supersedes the version dated 28 August 2007 (Supplement to OJ EPO No. 10/2007).

ADA). From 1 April 2009, payments by means of the automatic debiting procedure and debit orders filed online are generally processed by the EPO within two to three working days of the decisive payment date of the fee to be debited automatically or of the date of receipt of the online debit order. These transactions then normally appear on the following day in the statement of account viewable in Online Fee Payment via My.epoline. Because of the longer processing time needed, non-automated payments, i.e. debit orders filed on paper, by fax or by diskette, will continue to be booked from the account as a rule four to five working days after receipt of the debit order. A debit order is only carried out if there are sufficient funds in the account. The payment date, which is determined in accordance with point 6.3 ff ADA 5, is not affected by the internal processing date. However, should both automated and non- automated payments be made from the same account, then in the event of a short- fall in the account funds, the processing of the non-automated payments will, regard- less of the date of receipt of the order, be deferred in favour of automated payments until such time as the account is sufficiently replenished to cover also the non-auto- mated payments.

A debit order must not only be clear and unambiguous but unconditional as well (point 6.3 ADA).

Only by filing an automatic debit order does the applicant or his representative ensure that the responsibility for paying fees correctly, in full and on time passes to the EPO. To facilitate the use of the automatic debiting procedure, the possibility has been introduced of filing and revoking automatic debit orders using Online Fee Payment via My.epoline (points 1 and 13 AAD). Since the automatic debiting procedure applies from the date of receipt of the automatic

5 For payments by automatic debit order, see points 6 9 AAD in Annex A.1 to the ADA, for debit orders filed by means of Online Fee Payment via My.epoline, points 3.5 3.7 of the relevant Arrangements in Annex B.1 to the ADA, and for debit orders filed by diskette, points 3.3 3.8 of the relevant Arrangements in Annex B.2 to the ADA, all in this supplement.

debit order and ceases to apply from the date of receipt of the notice of revocation, account holders should carefully check the status of fee payments when using these new functions.

The decisive payment date for automatic debiting purposes (point 6.1 AAD) has been more clearly specified for the examination fee if a request for accelerated examination (PACE request) is made, for claims fees payable under Rule 162 EPC and for claims fees that become payable under Rule 71(6) EPC as a result of amendments under Rule 71(5) EPC.

The references to the provisions of the Implementing Regulations and of the Rules relating to Fees have been adapted as appropriate.

Lastly, some editorial changes have been made.

Given the varied and detailed nature of the changes, users are recommended to read the individual provisions of the revised texts carefully.

Arrangements for deposit accounts (ADA)

CONTENTS

1. General provisions 2. Formalities for opening an account

3. Administration of the accounts 4. Inpayments

5. Conditions of operating the account

6. Debiting the account 7. Revocation of a debit order 8. Automatic debiting procedure 9. Online Fee Payment via My.epoline

10. Debiting the account by diskette

11. Closing the account 12. Debiting annual subscriptions of members of the Institute of Professional Representatives before the European Patent Office

1. General provisions Under Articles 5(2) and 7(2) of its Rules relating to Fees (RFees), the EPO makes available, for any interested natural or legal person (or bodies equivalent to a legal person under the law applicable to them), deposit accounts for paying fees, expenses and prices to be levied by the Office.

2. Formalities for opening an account A deposit account may be opened upon request and provision of all the necessary particulars about the person, occupation and address of the prospective account holder. This is done by

(a) completing and submitting the online request form on the EPO website under https://secure.epo.org/products/deposit/ or

(b) sending a signed request, on paper, by fax or by e-mail, containing the above- mentioned particulars, to the EPO as follows:

European Patent Office Vienna sub-office Dir. 5.5.4 PO Box 90 1031 Vienna AUSTRIA Fax +43 (0)1 52126-2495 deposit_account@epo.org

3. Administration of the accounts Deposit accounts are kept in euro only, at the EPO headquarters in Munich.

4. Inpayments

4.1 Once the deposit account has been opened, its number is communicated to the holder, who must then make an initial inpayment commensurate with his require- ments and the intended frequency of replenishment, so as to ensure that there are sufficient funds in the account.

4.2 Inpayments to replenish deposit accounts must be made into an EPO bank account, giving the number of the EPO deposit account concerned. They are cred- ited to the deposit account with the date on which the inpayment is actually entered in the EPO bank account. They may be made only in the currency in which the EPO bank account concerned is held. If made into an EPO account held in a currency other than euro, they are converted into euro at the exchange rate pertaining on the inpayment date and the resulting euro amount is credited to the deposit account.

5. Conditions of operating the account

5.1 The deposit account number must be indicated whenever payments are made.

5.2 The holder must ensure that the account contains sufficient funds at all times. Article 7(1), the ten-day fail-safe provision of Article 7(3)(a) and (b) second half-sentence, and Article 7(4) RFees apply mutatis mutandis to replenishment payments.

5.3 Debit orders are processed by the EPO in the following order of priority 1:

(a) payments by automatic debit order,

(b) debit orders submitted online, whether using the EPO's Online Filing software or PCT-SAFE or by means of Online Fee Payment via My.epoline,

(c) all other debit orders, including those filed in accordance with point 6.9.

Subject to this, debit orders are booked in ascending order of application number ("PCT" before "EP"), unless otherwise indicated.

5.4 Several times each month, the holder is sent a detailed statement of account. Registered My.epoline users can also inspect their account transactions and download their account statements via Online Fee Payment 2. Any errors noted must be notified to the EPO without delay.

6. Debiting the account 6.1 Subject to point 12, deposit accounts may be debited only in respect of fees, expenses and prices to be levied by the EPO.

6.2 Debiting occurs in principle on the basis of a debit order signed by the account holder.

1 As a rule, payments under point 5.3(a) and (b) are processed by the EPO within two to three working days after the decisive payment date or the receipt of the debit order and those under (c) are processed within four to five working days after the date of receipt of the debit order. See also Notice from the EPO in this supplement.

2 For details of debits and other facilities available via Online Fee Payment, see point 9 ADA and Annex B.1 in this supplement.

This may be a debit order for individual fees, or

an automatic debit order filed under the automatic debiting procedure 3 for a specific European patent application and author- ising the debiting of fees automatically as the proceedings progress,

and may be filed

by means of EPO Online Filing, on EPO Forms 1001E (Request for grant) and 1200E (Form for entry into the European phase),

by means of EPO Online Filing or PCT-SAFE, on the PCT Fee Calculation Sheet annexed to Form PCT/RO/101 (PCT Request), in which case the signature requirement for the debit order is consid- ered met if the Request is duly signed,

by means of Online Fee Payment via My.epoline 4, in which case authorisation by smart card takes the place of a signature,

by means of EPO Online Filing using EPO Form 1038E (Letter accompanying subsequently filed items),

on paper, in the case of an individual debit order preferably on EPO Form 1010,

by fax, in the case of an individual debit order preferably on EPO Form 1010, which should be sent to the EPO's central fax number in Munich 5,

by diskette 6.

Paper confirmation of a debit order is not required.

3 See point 8 ADA and the Arrangements for auto- matic debiting in Annex A.1 in this supplement and Information from the EPO concerning the automatic debiting procedure in Annex A.2 in this supplement.

4 See footnote 2. 5 This number is: +49 (0)89 2399-4465. 6 See point 10 and Annex B.2 in this supplement.

6.3 The debit order must be clear, unambig- uous and unconditional. It must contain the particulars necessary to identify the purpose of the payment, including the amount of each fee or expense concerned, and must indicate the number of the account which is to be debited. Upon receipt by the EPO, the debit order is stamped with the date of receipt. Provided there are sufficient funds in the deposit account to cover the total fee payments indicated for the application referred to in the order, or in the case of an order containing a list of applications for each application referred to, this date is consid- ered to be the date on which payment is made.

6.4 If on the date of receipt of the debit order the account does not contain suffi- cient funds to cover the total fee payments indicated for an application (shortfall), the debit is not carried out for it and the holder is informed accordingly by post, fax or e-mail.

6.5 If, within a period of one month of receipt of the communication under point 6.4, the account is sufficiently replenished to enable the total payments indicated for the application to be debited and, within the same period, an administra- tive fee under point 6.6 is paid, then the date on which the debit order was received is considered to be the date on which payment was made. Whether or not the debit order was received in time is deter- mined in accordance with points 6.8 and 6.10.

6.6 The administrative fee is 30% of the shortfall, but not less than euro 50 or more than euro 305. If this fee is paid by debit order from the deposit account, at the latest by the time the one-month period under point 6.5 expires the account must contain sufficient funds to enable it to be debited.

6.7 If an administrative fee under points 6.5 and 6.6 is not paid in time, payment is considered to have been made on the date on which the deposit account was duly replenished.

6.8 If the EPO receives a debit order by post after expiry of a period for payment, then under Article 7(3) and (4) RFees that period is considered to have been observed if evidence is provided to the EPO that the person who made the payment

(a) despatched at a post office in a contracting state, within the period for making the payment, a letter bearing the address of the EPO containing the order, provided the account contained sufficient funds on the date on which the time limit expired, and

(b) paid a surcharge of 10% on the relevant fee or fees, but not exceeding euro 150; no surcharge is payable if the letter was despatched not later than ten days before expiry of the period for payment.

Such letters should be sent by registered mail for the purpose of securing evidence.

6.9 If a European patent application is filed under Article 75(1)(b) EPC with a compe- tent national authority, a debit order for fees which can be paid on filing may be included with the application.

6.10 If a debit order under point 6.9 is received by the EPO after expiry of the period for paying the fees, such period is considered to have been observed if evidence is available or is supplied to the EPO that the debit order was filed with the competent national authority together with the application, provided the account contained sufficient funds on the date on which the period expired.

6.11 Where a debit order under point 6.9 (not being an automatic debit order) is received by the competent national authority before the date on which an increase in the amounts of fees pursuant to Article 2 RFees takes effect but is received by the EPO on or after that date, the date of receipt at the competent national authority is considered to be the date on which the

payment is made, provided the account contained sufficient funds on that date.

6.12 For international applications filed with the EPO as receiving Office via a national office of an EPC contracting state pursuant to Article 151, second sentence, EPC and Article 75(2)(b) EPC, points 6.9 and 6.10 apply.

7. Revocation of a debit order A debit order may be revoked by signed written notice from the account holder, on paper or by fax 7, giving the number of the deposit account, the number of the applica- tion or patent and each fee or expense concerned. The notice of revocation is not effective if received by the EPO after the date on which the debit order is received.

8. Automatic debiting procedure

Account holders may have their accounts debited automatically on the basis of an automatic debit order. The conditions applicable, and in particular the types of proceedings and fees covered, are laid down in the Arrangements for the automatic debiting procedure (AAD) 8.

9. Online Fee Payment via My.epoline

Debit orders may also be filed online by means of Online Fee Payment via My.epoline, under conditions laid down in the Arrangements for Online Fee Payment via My.epoline 9.

7 To the Munich central fax number see footnote 5. For revocation of an automatic debit order, see point 13 AAD Annex A.1 in this supplement.

8 See Annex A.1 in this supplement. See also Annex A.2 in this supplement for the Information from the EPO concerning the automatic debiting procedure. 9 See Annex B.1 in this supplement.

10. Debiting the account by diskette

Holders of deposit accounts may be authorised to debit them by diskette, under conditions laid down in the Arrangements for debiting deposit accounts by diskette 10. This procedure may be restricted to specific categories of fees.

11. Closing the account 11.1 A deposit account may be closed at the signed written request, on paper or by fax, of the holder or his successors in title.

11.2 In addition, the EPO reserves the right to close any account which fails to comply with point 5.2.

11.3 On closure of the account, the credit balance is refunded by bank transfer to the holder or his successors in title, once the necessary account details have been supplied in writing.

12. Debiting annual subscriptions of members of the Institute of Professional Representatives before the European Patent Office 12.1 Under the Administrative Agreement of 5 April 1993 between the European Patent Office and the Institute of Profes- sional Representatives before the European Patent Office (epi) 11, deposit accounts may be debited with epi members' annual subscriptions as specified below upon submission of a debit order signed by the epi and based on one or more direct debiting mandates issued to the epi by the account holder and not submitted to the EPO.

12.2 Debit orders under point 12.1 are carried out with effect from the fixed debiting dates of 25 February and 25 June each year only; Rule 134(1) EPC on the extension of time limits does not apply. They are transmitted to the EPO on a data carrier specified by the EPO and comprise,

10 See Annex B.2 in this supplement. 11 See Annex C.1 in this supplement.

in one overall sum, all annual subscriptions to be debited from a deposit account. The date of payment is that on which the account is debited.

12.3 If, after priority has been given to fees or expenses in respect of EPO publications or services, a deposit account does not contain sufficient funds on the debiting date to cover the epi debit order, the order is not carried out and is returned to the epi.

12.4 Points 5.3, 6.2 to 6.12 and 7 do not apply to debit orders under point 12.1.

Annex A.1 to the ADA

Arrangements for the automatic debiting procedure (AAD) 1

CONTENTS

1. Automatic debiting procedure 2. Types of proceedings covered

3. Fee types covered

4. Fee types not covered

5. Automatic debit order and automatic debiting 6. Decisive payment date

7. Insufficient funds (shortfall) 8. Replenishing the account after commu- nication of insufficient funds

9. Administrative fee 10. Amendment and correction of debit

11. Subsequent filing of the automatic debit order 12. Use of other means of payment

13. Revocation of an automatic debit order

14. Termination of the automatic debiting procedure 15. Statements of account

1. Automatic debiting procedure A deposit account may also be debited on the basis of an automatic debit order signed by or on behalf of the account holder (auto- matic debiting procedure). It may be filed, preferably with the request for grant of a European patent (EPO Form 1001) or upon entry into the European phase of an inter- national application (EPO Form 1200), on paper, by fax or by means of EPO Online Filing. It may also be filed by means of Online Fee Payment via My.epoline. Such an order may be filed on behalf of the applicant or patent proprietor or his representative, and extends to all types of fees covered by the automatic debiting procedure and payable by him in respect of the proceedings specified in the automatic debit order. As the proceedings progress, each such fee is debited automatically and

1 See also the Information from the EPO concerning the automatic debiting procedure in Annex A.2 in this supplement.

recognised as received in time. The auto- matic debit order may not be restricted to specific types of fees.

2. Types of proceedings covered

Automatic debiting is allowed for:

(a) European patent applications, in grant and any subsequent appeal or review proceedings,

(b) international applications from entry into the European phase,

(c) European patents, for the patent propri- etor as party to opposition or subsequent appeal or review proceedings,

(d) European patents, in limitation or revo- cation proceedings and any subsequent appeal or review proceedings, on the basis of a new automatic debit order which must be filed for this purpose.

3. Fee types covered

Automatic debiting is allowed for all fee types except those expressly excluded under point 4 below, and in particular for the following:

(a) filing fee for European patent applica- tions and international applications entering the European phase (Article 78(2), Rule 38(1) and Rule 159(1)(c) EPC), including any additional fee for a European patent application comprising more than 35 pages (Rule 38(2), (3) EPC, Article 2, item 1a, RFees 2)

2 The additional fee is part of the filing fee and applies to European patent applications filed and international applications entering the European phase on or after 1 April 2009. See Decision of the Administrative Council of 14 December 2007 (OJ EPO 2008, 10), Decision of the Administrative Council of 21 October 2008 (OJ EPO 2008, 513) and Decision of the Administrative Council of 9 December 2008 (OJ EPO 2009, 7).

(b) search fee for a European or supple- mentary European search (Article 78(2), Rule 64(1) and Article 153(7) EPC)

(c) designation fee(s) for contracting states designated 3 (Article 79(2), Rules 39(1) and 159(1)(d) EPC, Article 2, item 3, RFees)

(d) claims fee for the sixteenth 4 and each subsequent claim (Rules 45(1), 71(6) and 162 EPC, Article 2, item 15, RFees)

(e) renewal fees for European patent applications (Article 86(1) EPC)

(f) examination fee (Article 94(1) EPC)

(g) fee for grant, including fee for publica- tion of the European patent specification (Rule 71(3) EPC, Article 2, item 7, RFees 5)

or fees for grant and printing the European patent specification 6

3 A single flat designation fee is payable for European patent applications filed and international applications entering the European phase on or after 1 April 2009. See references in footnote 2. For applications pending on 1 April 2009, Rules 39(1) and 159(1)(d) EPC, Article 2, item 3, RFees, as at 31 March 2009, continue to apply.

4 A two-tier system of fee amounts applies to European patent applications filed and international applications entering the European phase on or after 1 April 2009. For the sixteenth and each subsequent claim up to the fiftieth the lower amount applies, and for the fifty-first and each subsequent claim the higher amount applies. See references in footnote 2 and Decision of the Administrative Council of 6 March 2008 (OJ EPO 2008, 124). For applications pending on 1 April 2009, Article 2, item 15, RFees, as at 31 March 2009, continues to apply.

5 Applicable to European patent applications filed and international applications entering the European phase on or after 1 April 2009. For these applications page fees are no longer payable at this stage of the grant procedure. See references in footnote 2.

6 Applicable to European patent applications filed and international applications entering the European phase before 1 April 2009. For these applications, the amount of the fees for grant and printing is determined by the number of pages of the application documents intended for grant (not more/more than 35 pages). Rule 71(3) EPC, as at 31 March 2009, continues to apply.

(h) limitation or revocation fee (Article 105a(1) EPC)

(i) fee for publishing a new specification of the European patent (Rules 82(2) and 95(3) EPC, Article 2, item 8, RFees 7) or fee for printing a new European patent specification 8

(j) fee for further processing (Rule 135(1) EPC), except where a loss of rights does not result directly from the non-observance of the period concerned

(k) fee for re-establishment of rights (Rule 136(1) EPC), for reinstatement of rights (Rule 49.6(d)(i) PCT) and for requesting restoration (Rule 49ter.2(d) PCT) (all hereinafter "re-establishment"), provided the European patent application or European patent has not already been finally disposed of

(l) fee for appeal (Article 108 EPC), if payable by the applicant or patent proprietor

(m) fee for petition for review (Article 112a (4) EPC), if payable by the applicant or patent proprietor

(n) fee for late furnishing of a sequence listing (Rule 30(3) EPC)

(o) additional fee for late payment of a renewal fee for the European patent appli- cation (Rule 51(2) EPC)

(p) surcharge for late performance of the acts required under Rule 82(2) or 95(3) EPC (Rules 82(3) and 95(3) EPC)

(q) administrative fee for additional copy (copies) of the documents cited in the European search report

(r) administrative fee pursuant to point 9 below for late replenishment of the deposit account

(s) expenses for additional European patent specification(s)

7 See footnote 5. 8 See footnote 6. Rules 82(2) and 95(3) EPC, as at 31 March 2009, continue to apply.

(t) extension fee(s) for the extension of European patent applications and European patents.

4. Fee types not covered

Automatic debiting is not allowed for the following:

(a) all fees payable by parties other than the applicant or patent proprietor, notably the opposition fee

(b) conversion fee (Articles 135(3), 140 EPC)

(c) fee for the awarding of costs (Rule 88(3) EPC)

(d) fee for the conservation of evidence (Rule 123(3) EPC)

(e) fee for a technical opinion (Article 25 EPC)

(f) all fees, expenses and prices laid down by the EPO President under Article 3 RFees, other than those listed in point 3(q) to (s) above.

5. Automatic debit order and automatic debiting 5.1 As from the date of receipt of the auto- matic debit order at the EPO, and as the proceedings progress, the EPO debits the account holder's deposit account in respect of all fees for which automatic debiting is allowed as they arise in respect of the proceedings specified in the automatic debit order in question, and treats them as paid in time, provided they fall due on or after the date of receipt of the order and the deposit account contains sufficient funds.

5.2 Each debit occurs on the basis of the application documents available when it is effected. The EPO takes into consideration, to the account holder's benefit or detriment, all factors known to it at that time which have a legal bearing on the fees, doing so in such a way as to safeguard all rights arising from the application.

5.3 The debit is effected in euro in the amount applicable for the fee in question on the date to be considered as the date on which payment is made (hereinafter "decisive payment date").

6. Decisive payment date

6.1 Except as otherwise provided under points 8 and 11 below, payments under the automatic debiting procedure are consid- ered to have been received

(a) subject to point 6.1(b) to (e) below, for fees to be paid within a specific period:

on the last day of the period for paying the fee;

(b) for the examination fee where the applicant has waived his right to the invitation under Rule 70(2) EPC:

on the date of receipt of the waiver;

where the applicant has requested accelerated examination under the PACE programme before the date of expiry of the period under Rule 70(1) EPC or Rule 159(1) EPC, as appropriate 9: on the date of receipt of the request;

(c) for the fee for grant and publishing 10 the European patent specification where the translation of the claims is filed before the date of expiry of the period under Rule 71(3) EPC:

on the date of its receipt;

(d) for claims fees where these are payable under Rule 162(1) or (2) EPC: on the last day of the period under Rule 162(2) EPC;

where these are payable under Rule 71(6) EPC and the translation of the relevant claims is filed before the date of expiry of the period under Rule 71(6) EPC:

on the date of its receipt;

9

If appropriate, with an unconditional waiver of the invitation under Rule 70(2) EPC. For details, see Special edition No. 3, OJ EPO 2007, F.1., point 5.

10 For European patent applications filed and inter- national applications entering the European phase before 1 April 2009 this is the fee for grant and printing. See point 3(g), second alternative, and footnote 6.

(e) for the fee for publishing 11 a new European patent specification where the translation of the amended claims is filed before the date of expiry of the period under Rule 82(2) or 95(3) EPC:

on the date of its receipt;

(f) for renewal fees for European patent applications:

on the date they fall due (Rule 51(1), first sentence, EPC); for international applications entering the European phase: on the date they fall due (Rule 159(1)(g) in conjunction with Rule 51(1) EPC); for newly filed European divisional applications: on the last day of the period under Rule 51(3), second sentence, EPC; for European patent applications in respect of which the applicant's rights are re-established: on the last day of the period specified under Rule 51(4)(a) or (b) EPC, whichever is applicable; for European patent applications in respect of which the Enlarged Board of Appeal reopens proceedings before the board of appeal (Article 112a(5), second sentence, EPC): on the last day of the period specified under Rule 51(5)(a) or (b) EPC, whichever is applicable;

(g) for the fees for further processing, and subject to point 11.3: where the omitted act was the non- payment of a fee:

on the last day of the period for requesting further processing; where the omitted act was the non- performance of a procedural act other than payment of a fee:

on the date of completion of the omitted act; where by expiry of the relevant period there was more than one omitted act, at least one of which was the non-payment of a fee and one of which was the non-

11 Where the European patent was filed or the inter- national application entered the European phase before 1 April 2009, this is the fee for printing. See point 3(i), second alternative, and footnote 8.

performance of a procedural act, and subject to completion of said procedural act: on the last day of the period for requesting further processing; and for a fee the non-payment of which constitutes the omitted act: on the same date as for the corresponding fee for further processing;

(h) for the fee for re-establishment of rights, limitation or revocation fee, fee for appeal and for petition for review:

on the date of receipt of the request for re- establishment, the request for limitation or revocation, the appeal or the petition for review;

(i) for administrative fees and expenses (see point 3(q), (r) and (s) above): on their due date (Article 4(1) RFees).

6.2 Provided the conditions under point 5 above are met, the above dates are the decisive payment date for the purposes of Article 7(2) RFees.

7. Insufficient funds (shortfall) 7.1 If on the decisive payment date there are insufficient funds in the deposit account to cover all the fees in respect of a part- icular application, the automatic debit is not carried out and the account holder is informed accordingly by post, fax or e-mail.

7.2 Where more than one application is affected, fees are debited in ascending order of application number and only for those applications in respect of which the fees are completely covered by the funds in the account.

8. Replenishing the account after communication of insufficient funds

8.1 If, within one month of receipt of the communication under point 7 above, the deposit account is sufficiently replenished to enable each fee and the administrative fee under point 9 below to be paid, the EPO debits each fee and the administrative fee automatically and payment is considered to have been made on the original decisive payment date.

8.2 If after replenishment there are suffi- cient funds to debit each fee but not the administrative fee as well, payment is considered to have been made on the date on which the deposit account is suitably replenished.

8.3 If the EPO is informed within the period referred to in point 8.1 above that recogni- tion of the original decisive payment date is not required, only the fee or fees are debited and payment is then considered to have been made on the date on which the deposit account was replenished.

9. Administrative fee The administrative fee is 5% of the shortfall in the account but not less than euro 50 or more than euro 765 per decisive payment date affected.

10. Amendment and correction of debit

10.1 If after actually debiting a fee the EPO becomes aware of any change to the legal basis on which it did so, and which was brought to the attention of the EPO or competent national authority (see point 6.9 ADA) before the decisive payment date, if need be the EPO amends the debit retroac- tively to the original decisive payment date.

10.2 If the EPO finds that an automatic debit order was wrongly executed, it corrects the debit with effect for the original decisive payment date.

11. Subsequent filing of the automatic debit order 11.1 If an automatic debit order is not received by the EPO until after expiry of the period for paying a fee which may be paid late together with an additional fee or surcharge, both fee and additional fee or surcharge are debited automatically and payment is considered to have been received on the last day of the additional period.

11.2 If an automatic debit order is not received by the EPO until during the period for paying the fee for late furnishing of a sequence listing under Rule 30(3) EPC or claims fees under Rule 45(2), second sentence, or Rule 162(2) EPC, the late furnishing fee or claims fees are debited automatically and payment is considered to have been received on the last day of the period for payment.

11.3 If an automatic debit order is not received until during the period for requesting further processing, and the omitted act was the non-performance of a procedural act other than payment of a fee, automatic debiting of the fee for further processing is effected on the date on which the omitted act is completed, provided that the automatic debit order is received at the latest on that date. If the automatic debit order is received after the date of comple- tion of the omitted act, payment of the fee for further processing is considered to have been received on the date on which the automatic debit order is received.

If, however, the omitted act was the non- payment of a fee, or the omitted acts were non-payment of a fee and non-performance of a procedural act (other than as required under Rule 71(3) and Rule 71(6) EPC), point 11.1 applies mutatis mutandis. In an exceptional case concerning the acts required under Rule 71(3) or Rule 71(6) EPC, automatic debiting is effected on the date of receipt of the automatic debit order or of filing of the translation of the claims, as appropriate.

11.4 For an automatic debit order not received until during the period for requesting re-establishment or for filing an appeal or a petition for review, the fee for re-establishment, appeal or petition for review is debited automatically on the day on which the request, appeal or petition is received by the EPO, provided the auto- matic debit order was received before or together with the request, appeal or peti- tion. If the automatic debit order is received after the request, appeal or petition has

been filed, but before expiry of the period for doing so, payment of the fee is consid- ered to have been received on the date on which the automatic debit order was received.

11.5 Fee types not listed in points 11.1 to 11.4 above, and in particular fees which must be paid in order to complete the omitted act for a request for re-establish- ment, are not covered by the automatic debiting procedure and must be paid by the applicant, patent proprietor or representa- tive on his own responsibility using another means of payment allowed under the RFees.

12. Use of other means of payment

If in an individual case a fee is paid sepa- rately using another permitted means of payment and before its decisive payment date, the EPO will not carry out the auto- matic debit order in respect of that fee.

13. Revocation of an automatic debit order An automatic debit order may be revoked as laid down in point 7 ADA or by means of Online Fee Payment via My.epoline (see point 3.8 Annex B.1 to ADA). It may be revoked only for the proceedings as a whole. Debits may not be revoked in respect of fees whose decisive payment date precedes the date on which the revocation is received.

14. Termination of the automatic debiting procedure The automatic debit order ceases to be effective on the day on which

(a) the grant of the European patent takes effect; if an opposition to the granted European patent is filed, the patent propri- etor's automatic debit order becomes effective again until the opposition or any subsequent appeal or petition for review is finally settled

(b) the European patent application is with- drawn, finally refused or finally deemed withdrawn, or consolidated with another application to enable the examining division to carry out a single grant procedure

(c) a request is received for a transfer of rights to be recorded in the European Patent Register under Rule 22(1) EPC, provided the automatic debits were being made from the deposit account of the party withdrawing from the proceedings and the said party simultaneously revokes his automatic debit order

(d) notification is received of the represen- tative's withdrawal, provided the automatic debits were being made from the deposit account of the representative and he simultaneously revokes his automatic debit order

(e) a stay of the proceedings under Rule 14 EPC takes effect

(f) an interruption of the proceedings under Rule 142 EPC takes effect.

(g) the limitation (revocation) proceedings in respect of a European patent for which the automatic debit order was filed are finally terminated.

15. Statements of account Several times each month, the account holder is sent a detailed statement of account. Account transactions may also be inspected and downloaded by means of Online Fee Payment via My.epoline. Any errors noted on the basis of his own records must be notified to the EPO without delay. The EPO checks this information and, if need be, corrects the transaction retroac- tively to the original decisive payment date.

Annex A.2 to the ADA

Information from the EPO concerning the automatic debiting procedure

The Arrangements for the automatic debiting procedure (AAD) 1 offer holders of deposit accounts with the EPO an additional payment option.

The automatic debiting procedure is explained below.

I. General remarks Some 90% of all fee payments are now made by debiting deposit accounts held with the EPO, which has thus proved to be the simplest and cheapest method of payment for both the Office and regular fee-payers.

Account holders may use the conventional debiting procedure, as governed by the Arrangements for deposit accounts (ADA) 2 for fees and other payments by means of individual debit orders which must give the necessary information about the purpose of the payment and reach the EPO before the relevant period for payment expires. In these cases, responsibility for ensuring that payment is made correctly, in full and on time lies with the payer.

The automatic debiting procedure provides an additional means of payment for the benefit of applicants, patent propri- etors and their representatives. Under this procedure, as laid down in the Arrange- ments for the automatic debiting procedure (AAD), an account holder only has to give the EPO a single debit order the auto- matic debit order for a specific applica- tion. From the date of its receipt the EPO debits by computer, on the basis of its electronically stored procedural data for the application in question, the appropriate amounts of all fees for the application which are covered by the automatic debiting

1 See Annex A.1, in this supplement. 2 See p. 5 of this supplement.

procedure, and treats the payment as received in due time. For those types of proceedings for which automatic debiting is allowed, the procedure covers all fees whose payment is in the interest of the applicant or patent proprietor, except those expressly excluded under point 4 AAD. Responsibility for ensuring that payment is made correctly, in full and on time thus passes to the EPO.

This procedure also means certain adjust- ments for users. Once they have issued the automatic debit order, in most cases they need take no further action to make payments. However, whereas with another means of payment, including the conventional debiting procedure, applicants can achieve certain legal consequences simply by not paying a particular fee, under the automatic procedure users must actively inform the EPO that no payment (or only one particular one) is to be made; otherwise payments are debited automatically in full. Applicants' attention is drawn to such situations in the relevant EPO forms (for instance, in the communi- cation under Rule 64(1) EPC, inviting payment of further search fees, EPO Form series 1507). For automatic debiting to function smoothly, it is also essential that users make sure that their deposit accounts always contain sufficient funds to avoid inconvenience and unnecessary work.

The Arrangements for the automatic debiting procedure (AAD) form part of the Arrangements for deposit accounts (ADA), which thus also apply to the procedure as appropriate. Attention is drawn in particular to point 2 ADA (opening the account), point 3 (accounts kept in euro only), point 4 (inpayments), point 5 (conditions of opera- tion), point 6.2 (ways of filing a debit order),

point 6.8 (10-day safeguard), point 6.9 to 6.11 (filing with competent national authorities) and point 11 (closing the account).

II. Notes on individual provisions of the Arrangements for the automatic debiting procedure (AAD)

Re point 1 AAD: Automatic debiting procedure Pursuant to point 6.3 ADA, the automatic debit order must give not only the particu- lars of the application for which it is issued but also the number of the account to be debited. See also notes to point 5 AAD below.

The automatic debiting procedure is open only to the applicant or patent proprietor or his representative, not for example to opponents (whether in first instance proceedings or as a party to subsequent appeal or review proceedings), third parties or persons other than the applicant or patent proprietor who inspect the file.

When the procedure is brought to a close (e.g. by withdrawal of the application or when the decision granting or refusing a patent becomes final), the automatic debit order ceases to be valid (see point 14 AAD). For revocation of the order, see point 13 AAD.

A new automatic debit order is required for limitation or revocation proceedings (see EPO Form 2380).

Re point 2 AAD: Types of proceedings covered

The automatic debiting procedure covers not only appeal proceedings but also review proceedings under Article 112a EPC to which the applicant or patent proprietor is a party.

The automatic debiting procedure is currently not available to make fee payments for international applications in proceedings before the EPO as receiving Office, International Searching Authority, or International Preliminary Examining Authority.

Re point 3 AAD: Fee types covered

The EPO takes into consideration, to the account holder's benefit or detriment, all relevant factors known to it when the auto- matic debit is effected, doing so in such a way as to safeguard all rights arising from the application (see point 5 AAD).

Notes on individual fees:

Point 3(a) AAD: Filing fee (including any additional fee)

For European patent applications filed and international applications entering the European phase on or after 1 April 2009, the Rules relating to Fees provide for an additional fee as part of the filing fee if the European patent application comprises more than 35 pages (Article 2, item 1a, RFees 3).

For European patent applications the basic filing fee is debited automatically on the last day of the one-month period as of filing the application. The additional fee is debited automatically on the last day of the one- month period as of filing the European patent application, or of the one-month period as of filing the first set of claims or of the one-month period as of filing the certi- fied copy referred to in Rule 40(3) EPC, whichever is applicable (Rule 38(2) EPC 4).

Where the requirements of Article 14(2) and Rule 6 EPC for the reduction of fees (language rebate) are met, only 80% of the filing fee, including any additional fee, is

3 See Decision of the Administrative Council of 14 December 2007 (OJ EPO 2008, 10) and Deci- sion of the Administrative Council of 21 October 2008 (OJ EPO 2008, 513). 4 See Decision of the Administrative Council of 21 October 2008 (OJ EPO 2008, 513).

debited under the automatic debiting procedure (Article 14(1) RFees).

For international applications entering the European phase, the filing fee, including any additional fee, is debited automatically on the last day of the period under Rule 159(1) EPC.

Point 3(b) AAD: Search fee for a European or supplementary European search

If, for a European patent application, the search division makes a finding of non-unity it informs the applicant under Rule 64(1) EPC, when it transmits the partial European search report, that a further search fee is payable for each additional invention involved. The search fee for each further invention is debited automatically on the last day of the period for payment set by the search division. Therefore, if the applicant does not want one or more of the further inventions to be searched, he must notify the EPO to this effect before the period for payment expires in order to prevent the automatic debit of the further search fee(s) being carried out. The applicant is informed of this situation in the communication under Rule 64(1) EPC (EPO Form series 1507).

For the supplementary European search fee, the procedure takes account of circum- stances in which the fee is reduced or not payable, debiting accordingly only the reduced amount or no fee at all.

Point 3(c) AAD: Designation fee(s)

1. European patent applications filed and international applications entering the European phase on or after 1 April 2009

For European patent applications filed, including European divisional applications, and international applications entering the European phase on or after 1 April 2009 only, payment of the flat designation fee

covers all the contracting states (Article 2, item 3, RFees 5), except for any which have been expressly withdrawn. In the case of a European divisional application, the fee does not cover any contracting states no longer validly designated in the earlier application at the time of filing of the divisional application (Article 76(2) EPC).

2. European patent applications filed and international applications entering the European phase before 1 April 2009

For European patent applications filed and international applications entering the European phase before 1 April 2009 only, payment of seven times the designation fee is deemed to cover all the contracting states. Where no specific contracting states were indicated in the relevant section of the Request for Grant form (EPO Form 1001 or 1001E) or of the form for entry into the European phase (EPO Form 1200 or 1200E) an amount equal to seven times the designation fee is debited under the auto- matic debiting procedure, unless the EPO is instructed to do otherwise before expiry of the relevant period for paying these fees (Rules 39(1), 159(1)(d) EPC).

Likewise, if fewer than seven contracting states were expressly indicated in the indi- vidual boxes in the relevant section of EPO Form 1001 (1001E) or of EPO Form 1200 (1200E), designation fees are then debited under the automatic debiting procedure for those states only.

However, if the applicant wishes to make use of the possibility of paying designation fees for states additional to or different from those which he indicated in the above- mentioned section of EPO Form 1001 (1001E) or EPO Form 1200 (1200E), and informs the EPO accordingly within the period for paying them, then these

5 See references in footnote 3.

designation fees are debited automatically, with effect from the date of expiry of that period.

Furthermore, provided that the applicant did not waive his right to receive a loss of rights communication under Rule 112 EPC (see waiver box in designations section of EPO Form 1001 (1001E) or 1200 (1200E), versions from 12.07 to 01.09), he may still inform the EPO before expiry of the period for requesting further processing (Article 121, Rule 135(1) EPC) that he wishes to designate states additional to those already paid for, together with an indication of the states concerned. In this case the relevant designation fees, plus the corresponding fees for further processing, are debited with effect from the date of expiry of the period for requesting further processing.

3. For all applications If an applicant wishes to pay the designa- tion fee(s) before expiry of the period for doing so, payment must be made sepa- rately by another means of payment allowed under the RFees (see point 12 AAD). This applies, for example, at the end of the European grant procedure if, excep- tionally, the fee(s) become(s) due only after the communication under Rule 71(3) EPC (Rule 71(8) EPC). The fee(s) should be paid early by another means to prevent delay in the publication of the mention of grant. The applicant is informed of this situation in the communication under Rule 71(3) EPC (EPO Form 2004).

For the automatic debiting of the designa- tion fee(s) where the automatic debit order is not filed until after expiry of the period for payment, see point 11.3 AAD.

For the automatic debiting of the extension fee(s), see note to point 3(t) AAD.

Point 3(d) AAD: Claims fees (Rules 45, 162 and 71(6) EPC)

For European patent applications filed and international applications entering the European phase on or after 1 April 2009, a two-tier system of claims fees has been introduced 6: for the sixteenth and each subsequent claim up to the fiftieth the lower amount applies, and for the fifty-first and each subsequent claim the higher amount applies (Article 2, item 15, RFees).

For European patent applications filed and international applications entering the European phase before 1 April 2009, claims fees are due for the sixteenth and each subsequent claim 7.

Claims fees under Rule 45 EPC:

The EPO takes as the basis for the auto- matic debiting procedure the claims incur- ring fees under Rule 45 EPC contained in the first set of claims filed. Where there is more than one set of claims, it takes the set containing the greatest number (see Legal Advice No. 3, November 1985 revised version, OJ EPO 1985, 347). If the appli- cant does not want to pay for any or all of these claims incurring fees, he must inform the EPO accordingly before the period under Rule 45(2), first sentence, EPC expires.

Regarding the decisive payment date for claims fees under Rule 45 EPC where the automatic debit order is not received until after filing of the claims but before expiry of the period under Rule 45(2), second sentence, EPC, see point 11.2 AAD.

6 See references in footnote 3 and Decision of the Administrative Council of 6 March 2008 (OJ EPO 2008, 124). 7 See Decision of the Administrative Council of 14 December 2007 (OJ EPO 2008, 5), applicable to payments made on or after 1 April 2008.

Claims fees under Rule 162 EPC:

In the case of international applications, any claims fees payable on entry into the European phase are computed and, where appropriate, debited under the automatic debiting procedure on the basis of the documents on which the European grant procedure is to be based (Rule 162 EPC). If these documents comprise more than fifteen claims, a claims fee is payable for the sixteenth and each subsequent claim under Rule 162(1) EPC (see also intro- ductory remarks above on point 3(d) AAD). Without prejudice to Rule 137(2) to (4) EPC, the application may be amended once, within one month of notification of a communication informing the applicant accordingly (combined communication under Rules 161 and 162 EPC). If within this period amended claims are filed, the claims fees due are computed on the basis of such amended claims (Rule 162(2) EPC). For reasons of procedural economy, claims fees payable under Rule 162 EPC are debited automatically on the last day of the period under Rule 162(2) EPC (see point 6.1(d) AAD).

Account holders wishing to make an earlier payment of claims fees which have already become due, for example before a fee increase takes effect, must do so by another permitted means of payment (see point 12 AAD).

See also note to point 11 AAD for cases in which the automatic debit order is filed subsequently during the period for requesting further processing following the non-payment of claims fees under Rule 45 or 162 EPC.

Claims fees under Rule 71(6) EPC:

If the European patent application in the text intended for grant comprises more than fifteen claims, the examining division invites the applicant to pay claims fees in respect of each additional claim as specified under

Article 2, item 15, RFees 8 within the period under Rule 71(3) EPC, unless the said fees have already been paid in accordance with Rule 45 or 162 EPC (Rule 71(6) EPC). The relevant number of claims fees is debited automatically on the date of filing of the translation of the relevant claims, or on the last day of the period set. The applicant is informed of this beforehand in the commu- nication under Rule 71(3) EPC (EPO Form 2004). If the application in the text intended for grant comprises, after amendments requested within the period under Rule 71 (3) EPC, further additional claims, the applicable number of claims fees for these is debited automatically on the last day of the period set. The applicant is informed accordingly in EPO Form 2098A.

Point 3(e) AAD: "European" renewal fees

In the automatic debiting procedure, apart from the particular cases listed under point 6.1(f) AAD, renewal fees are debited on the date on which they become due under Rule 51(1) EPC or Rule 159(1)(g) EPC.

However, if an applicant wishes to pay a "European" renewal fee before the due date, which is possible up to three months in advance of that date (Rule 51(1) EPC) 9, it must be paid separately by another means of payment allowed under the RFees (see point 12 AAD). This applies, for example, if in the final phase of the European grant procedure a renewal fee becomes due after the communication under Rule 71(3) EPC (Rule 71(9) EPC). The fee should be paid early by another permitted means to prevent delay in the publication of the mention of grant. The applicant is informed of this situation in the communication under Rule 71(3) EPC (EPO Form 2004).

8 For European patent applications filed and interna- tional applications entering the European phase on or after 1 April 2009, see references in footnote 3. See also introductory remarks above on point 3(d) AAD.

9 See Decision of the Administrative Council of 21 October 2008 (OJ EPO 2008, 513).

For the decisive payment date of a renewal fee in cases in which the fee becomes due following a decision to grant re-establish- ment or a decision of the Enlarged Board of Appeal to reopen proceedings before the board of appeal under Article 112a EPC, see point 6.1(f) AAD.

Point 3(f) AAD: Examination fee

The examination fee is automatically debited on the last day of the period speci- fied in Rule 70(1) EPC, making due allow- ance for any reduction under Article 14(4) and Rule 6(3) EPC in conjunction with Article 14(1) RFees (language rebate) and/ or because an international preliminary examination report has previously been drawn up by the EPO (Article 14(2) RFees). The applicant is informed in the communi- cation under Rule 69 EPC (EPO Form 1081) that the automatic debit is about to be made. Since examination was already requested in the Request for Grant (EPO Form 1001 or 1001E), the applicant can prevent a debit of this fee only by revoking the automatic debit order or withdrawing the application in time. The possibility of paying the examination fee after expiry of the period under Rule 70(1) EPC by way of a request for further proces- sing under Article 121 and Rule 135 EPC is not affected, provided the application has not been withdrawn or finally settled.

For cases in which the examination fee is automatically debited before expiry of the period for payment, see point 6.1(b) AAD.

If a request for accelerated examination under the "PACE" programme is made when the European patent application is filed, the examination fee will not be debited automatically on the date of receipt of the request unless the applicant has at the same time unconditionally waived the invi- tation under Rule 70(2) EPC (see Notice from the EPO dated 14 July 2007, Special edition No. 3, OJ EPO 2007 F.1., point 5). The same applies where a request for accelerated examination is submitted at the

time the steps for entry into the European phase are taken for an international appli- cation for which a supplementary European search is required. It should also be noted that if a request for accelerated examination accompanies a request for early entry into the European phase, the fees due, including the examination fee, are not debited automatically at this stage and must, therefore, be paid using another permitted means of payment (see also point 12 AAD and corresponding notes in this Annex).

Point 3(g) AAD: Fee for grant

1. Fee for grant, including fee for publica- tion of the European patent specification

This flat fee for grant, including the fee for publication of the European patent specifi- cation, applies to European patent applica- tions filed on or after 1 April 2009 and to international applications entering the European phase on or after that date 10.

This fee is debited automatically on the date on which the applicant files the trans- lation of the claims, or on the last day of the period set. The applicant is informed accordingly in the communication under Rule 71(3) EPC (EPO Form 2004).

2. Fees for grant and printing the European patent specification The fees for grant and printing the European patent specification apply to European patent applications filed and to international applications entering the European phase before 1 April 2009.

These fees are debited automatically on the date on which the applicant files the translation of the claims, or on the last day of the period set. The applicant is informed accordingly in the communication under Rule 71(3) EPC (EPO Form 2004).

10 See references in footnote 3.

The automatic debiting procedure also covers any additional fees for printing application documents comprising more than 35 pages.

3. For all applications Note should also be taken of the relevant information on claims fees due under Rule 71(6) EPC (see note to point 3(d) AAD above), and on the designation fee(s) (see note to point 3(c) AAD above) and "European" renewal fees (see note to point 3(e) AAD above), when these become due in the final phase of the grant procedure.

Point 3(h) AAD: Limitation or revocation fee

Where the requirements for the language rebate are met (Article 14(4), Rule 6(3) EPC), only 80% of the revocation or limita- tion fee is debited. The date for automatic debiting purposes is that of receipt of the request for limitation or revocation.

Point 3(j) AAD: Fee for further processing

Here, the decisive payment date is defined according to the nature of the omitted act or acts. In the case of non-performance of a procedural act other than the payment of a fee, the EPO takes as the decisive payment date the date of completion of the omitted act (filing of document) (see also points 6.1(g) and 11.3 AAD). For cases in which the omitted act was the non-payment of a procedural fee, see also point 11.3 AAD.

Point 3(k) AAD: Fee for re-establishment

References to "re-establishment" in the Arrangements for the automatic debiting procedure (Annex A.1) and in the notes of the present Information are to be under- stood as applying not just to re-establish- ment of rights under Article 122 EPC, but also, as appropriate, to reinstatement of rights under Rule 49.6(d)(i) PCT and restoration of the priority right under Rule 49ter.2(d) PCT.

For these, the EPO takes the date of receipt of the application for re-establish- ment (see point 6.1(h) AAD). It must be noted that in this case automatic debiting only covers the fee for re-establishment itself not other fees (e.g. renewal fee and additional fee) the non-payment of which constituted the omitted act. Such fees must therefore be paid separately by another permitted means of payment. In addition, automatic debiting of this fee is only possible in cases where a legally binding disposal of the application or patent has not already entered into force.

Regarding automatic debit orders filed subsequently, see point 11.4 and 11.5 AAD.

Point 3(l) AAD: Fee for appeal The automatic debiting procedure only covers this fee if the appeal is filed by the applicant or patent proprietor. Where the requirements for the language rebate are met (Article 14(4), Rule 6(3) EPC), only 80% of the appeal fee is debited. The date for automatic debiting purposes is that of receipt of the appeal (see point 6.1(h) AAD).

Point 3(m) AAD: Fee for petition for review

Again, the automatic debiting procedure only covers this fee if the petition for review is filed by the applicant or patent proprietor. Where the requirements for the language rebate are met (Article 14(4), Rule 6(3) EPC), only 80% of the fee is debited. The date for automatic debiting purposes is that of receipt of the petition for review (see point 6.1(h) AAD).

Point 3(n) AAD: Late furnishing fee

The fee for the late furnishing of a sequence listing is debited automatically on the last day of the period under Rule 30(3) EPC, provided that the sequence listing is filed within the same period.

Points 3(o) and (p) AAD: Additional fee and surcharges The automatic debiting procedure ensures that fees are paid on time, provided the deposit account contains sufficient funds. The additional fee under point 3(o) and the surcharges under point 3(p) AAD are there- fore exceptions: i.e. where the automatic debit order is filed only after the due date for a renewal fee or after expiry of the relevant period for payment (see point 11 AAD) or, in the case of insufficient funds, the applicant is late in replenishing the account and paying the administrative fee, with the result that the automatic debit is not considered to have occurred on the due date or the last day of the period for payment (see points 7 and 8 AAD).

Point 3(t) AAD: Extension fee(s)

Under the automatic debiting procedure, extension fee(s) are debited for the exten- sion states which the applicant has specifi- cally indicated in the relevant section of the Request for Grant form (EPO Form 1001 or 1001E) or of the form for entry into the European phase (EPO Form 1200 or 1200E), unless the applicant instructs the EPO otherwise within the period for paying these fees which is the same as for paying the designation fee(s) (Rules 39(1) and 159(1)(d) EPC) 11. However, the following essential feature should be noted. The designation fee is debited automatically for all the contracting states except for any which have been expressly withdrawn 12. Extension fees, on the other hand, are only debited automatically for those extension states specifically indicated on EPO Form 1001 (1001E) or 1200 (1200E) or subsequently within the relevant period for payment.

11 See the note to point 3(c) AAD concerning desig- nation fee(s). See also references in footnote 3.

12 This applies to European patent applications filed and international applications entering the European phase on or after 1 April 2009. For European patent applications filed and interna- tional applications entering the European phase before that date, designation fees for all contracting states are debited automatically unless the applicant has indicated six or fewer specific states.

Where an extension state is not thus indicated and the request for extension in respect of it is deemed to be with- drawn as a result, this can still be reme- died only if a communication is issued under Rule 112(1) EPC informing the applicant of the deemed withdrawal of the application (Rule 39(2) EPC 13) due to non-payment of the designation fee. Such communication will mention any extension state for which the extension fee was not paid in due time. Attention is also drawn to the note to point 3(c) AAD concerning the designation fee(s).

To pay extension fee(s) before expiry of the period for doing so, another means of payment allowed under the RFees must be used (see point 12 AAD and note to point 3(c) AAD, paragraph 3. For all applications).

Re point 4 AAD: Fee types not covered

Notes on individual fees:

Point 4(a) AAD: Opposition and other fees

Opponents cannot use the automatic debiting procedure in either opposition or subsequent appeal or review proceedings.

13 For European patent applications filed and inter- national applications entering the European phase before 1 April 2009, a communication under Rule 112(1) EPC may be issued in respect of individual designations deemed to be withdrawn due to non-payment of the designation fees. See Decision of the Administrative Council of 21 October 2008 (OJ EPO 2008, 513).

Point 4(f) AAD: Fees, expenses and prices laid down by the EPO President under Article 3 RFees

These include the administrative fees for the registration of transfers (Rule 22 EPC), licences and other rights (Rule 23 EPC).

Re point 5 AAD: Automatic debit order and automatic debiting

The automatic debit order should be issued at the same time as the European patent application is filed, or the procedural steps are taken for entry into the European phase (EPO as designated or elected Office). To facilitate this, the Request for Grant form (EPO Form 1001 and 1001E) and the form for entry into the European phase (EPO Form 1200 and 1200E) include a separate section which can be completed in order to select this means of payment.

An automatic debit order filed with a European patent application using EPO Form 1001 or 1001E or with a Euro-PCT application using EPO Form 1200 or 1200E may be issued only for the application in question, giving only one deposit account to be debited.

An automatic debit order may be submitted together with a European patent application filed with the competent national authority of a contracting state under Article 75(1)(b) EPC (point 6.9 ADA). In contrast, the form for taking the procedural steps for entry into the European phase (EPO Form 1200 or 1200E) must be filed direct with the EPO.

In the case of European patent applications initially retained by the central industrial property office of a contracting state under Rule 37(1)(b) EPC, the EPO ensures in co-operation with that office that any auto- matic debit order is nonetheless carried out. Where applicable, fees are refunded under Rule 37(2) EPC.

Divisional applications are not covered by an automatic debit order issued for the parent application; for them, separate automatic debit orders must be issued.

A new automatic debit order is required for limitation or revocation proceedings (see EPO Form 2380).

An automatic debit order filed by means of Online Filing or by fax together with a European patent application requires no confirmation copy.

Regarding automatic debit orders filed subsequently, see point 11 AAD and the relevant notes.

Re point 6 AAD: Decisive payment date

Extensions of time limits under Rule 134(1) EPC are taken into account when calcu- lating the due date or date of payment.

Regarding the automatic debiting of fees for further processing and re-establishment, see notes to points 3(j) and (k), 11 and 14 AAD.

Regarding the special provisions for the decisive payment date where the automatic debit order is not filed together with the application, see point 11 AAD.

For further comments on individual fee types, see also under Re point 3 AAD.

Re point 7 AAD: Insufficient funds (shortfall) Deposit accounts with insufficient funds involve unnecessary work and payment of an administrative fee; to avoid this, account holders should make sure that their accounts always contain sufficient funds to cover their automatic debit bookings.

Re point 8 AAD: Replenishing the account in case of insufficient funds

Account holders must replenish their deposit accounts on their own initiative in accordance with point 4.2 ADA. They are informed accordingly in the communication under point 7 AAD.

If the administrative fee is paid separately using another method of payment before the deposit account is replenished, in accordance with point 12 AAD the adminis- trative fee under point 9 AAD will not be automatically debited.

Re point 10 AAD: Amendment and correction of debit See also point 15 AAD for cases where the account holder notes errors.

Re point 11 AAD: Subsequent filing of the automatic debit order

Point 11 AAD allows automatic debit orders to be issued for proceedings that are already pending, and thus supplements point 6 AAD as regards the decisive payment date.

No special form is needed; the order should be addressed to the EPO's Treasury and Accounts Directorate in Munich, indicating the number and holder of the deposit account, and the number of the application in question. If automatic debit orders are filed subsequently for more than one application, the EPO also accepts lists containing the necessary information (see also following paragraph). If confirmation of receipt is required, EPO Form 1037 or 1038 should be used. Automatic debit orders can also be filed subsequently online by means of Online Fee Payment via My.epoline or using EPO Form 1038E (one form for each application concerned). Automatic debit orders can also be filed subsequently by fax. These should be sent to the EPO's central fax number in Munich (+49 (0)89 2399-4465). No confirmation copy is necessary.

With subsequent filing, special attention must be paid to the fee situation at that time (particularly during the phase just after filing the European patent application), in order to avoid incorrect or double debits or having to pay further processing fees (see notes to point 3(j) AAD) or surcharges or additional fees (see notes to point 3(o) and (p) AAD). If automatic debit orders are filed for more than one application at the same time, the procedural status of each applica- tion should be carefully checked, so as to ensure that each subsequently filed order does actually cover the fees which are intended. Surcharges or additional fees can only arise in exceptional cases, namely where the automatic debit order is not received until after expiry of a period for payment within which the fee was not paid (point 11 AAD) or, in the case of insufficient funds, the applicant is late in replenishing the account and paying the administrative fee with the result that the automatic debit is not deemed to have been made on the original decisive payment date (see points 7 and 8 AAD).

If the automatic debit order is not filed until after expiry of the period under Rule 45 or 162 EPC but before expiry of the period for requesting further processing in respect of claims deemed withdrawn as a result of non-payment of the claims fees, and the applicant now wishes to pay for fewer claims than those for which fees have become due, he should indicate these before expiry of the period for requesting further processing. Otherwise all claims fees which have become due and the corresponding further processing fees are debited automatically on the last day of this period.

Regarding the automatic debiting of fees for further processing and re-establishment, see notes to points 3(j) and (k), 6 and 14 AAD.

Re point 12 AAD: Use of other means of payment

This provision enables account holders wishing to make faster payments in indivi- dual cases to pay fees at the time they want using another means of payment allowed under the RFees.

Regarding situations necessitating earlier payment of the designation fee(s) and renewal fees by another means, see the respective notes to points 3(c) and (e) AAD above.

For early entry into the European phase (Articles 23(2), 40(2) PCT), the relevant fees must be paid by another permitted means of payment.

Where, in the event of a fee increase, the decisive payment date of a fee under the automatic debiting procedure falls on or after the date on which the fee increase takes effect, then, provided that the fee may be paid before that date (e.g. a renewal fee 14), it may be so paid in the old amount using another means of payment. The same applies to fees subject to an automatic debit order which is included with a European patent application filed under Article 75(1)(b) EPC with a competent national authority.

Fees paid early are no longer covered by the automatic debiting procedure and so are not debited automatically.

14 As from 1 April 2009 renewal fees may not be validly paid more than three months before they fall due (Rule 51(1) EPC), see Decision of the Admin- istrative Council of 21 October 2008 (OJ EPO 2008, 513).

If a payment made early by another means is insufficient to cover the fee concerned, this deficiency is not rectified under the automatic debiting procedure. Instead, the EPO reacts as appropriate to the given situation.

Re point 13 AAD: Revocation of an automatic debit order

It is particularly important to note that in the automatic debiting procedure the party to the proceedings/account holder must take action if he wishes to prevent a fee being paid.

Notice of revocation of an automatic debit order, if filed on paper or by fax (see point 7 ADA), should be addressed to the EPO's Treasury and Accounts Directorate in Munich, indicating the number and holder of the deposit account, and the number of the application in question. Notice of revo- cation may also be filed by means of Online Fee Payment via My.epoline (see also point 3.8 Annex B.1 to the ADA).

The account holder must pay special atten- tion to the timing of the revocation of an automatic debit order, so as to ensure that the relevant fees are included in or excluded from the automatic debiting proce- dure, as with the subsequent filing of an automatic debit order (see note Re point 11 AAD).

Once such a revocation notice is received, no more fees whose decisive payment date would be on or after the date of receipt of the notice are debited automatically, and the EPO corrects any such debits already made.

The EPO issues account holders with confirmation of the date of receipt of the revocation notice.

An automatic debit order cannot be revoked in part for individual fees or types of fees. It is however possible while a payment period

is running to prevent the automatic debiting of certain fees by notifying the EPO accord- ingly (see General Remarks, penultimate paragraph, and notes to points 3(b), (c), (d), (f) and (t) AAD). See also point 12 AAD.

As explained in the notes to point 1 AAD above, an automatic debit order lapses once the proceedings are concluded. It may however be in an applicant's interests to revoke the order before then, for example to prevent payment of a forth- coming renewal fee when he no longer wants to pursue the application.

Re point 14 AAD: Termination of the automatic debiting procedure An automatic debit order ceases to be effective when the proceedings in question are closed (see point 14(a) and (b) AAD). This means that subsequent applications for re-establishment are no longer covered by the order, and all the fees arising have to be paid by the applicant himself by another means of payment. See also the notes to points 3(k) and 11 AAD.

There are various different sets of circum- stances in which an applicant, patent proprietor or representative can withdraw from the proceedings. It is therefore neces- sary to be clear about whether or not he wishes to continue with the automatic debiting procedure. Hence the require- ment under point 14(c) and (d) AAD that he himself also revokes the automatic debit order. If he does not, the automatic debiting procedure continues with the party or representative as hitherto.

Changes of name of the applicant, patent proprietor or representative (or their respective firms) not involving a transfer within the meaning of Rule 22 EPC do not cause the automatic debit order to lapse. Nor does a change of person handling the application in a representative's office.

Automatic debit orders do however cease to be effective if the grant proceedings are stayed under Rule 14 EPC (as a result of national entitlement proceedings) or interrupted under Rule 142 EPC (in the event of death or legal incapacity, or an action against property): see point 14(e) and (f) AAD. If, when the proceedings are resumed, the automatic debiting procedure is to be used again, a new automatic debit order must be issued.

Likewise, a new automatic debit order is required for limitation or revocation proceedings (see EPO Form 2380).

Re point 15 AAD: Statements of account See also point 10 AAD for cases where the EPO notes errors.

Annex B.1 to the ADA

Arrangements for Online Fee Payment via My.epoline

CONTENTS

1. General provisions 2. Authorisation 3. Debiting the deposit account 4. Inspecting the account 5. Withdrawal of authorisation

Appendix: DTD 1 for creating the XML 2 file for batch payments

1. General provisions Online Fee Payment via My.epoline comprises paying fees and inspecting the account. Unless otherwise stated below, it is governed by the Arrangements for deposit accounts 3.

2. Authorisation 2.1 Natural persons entitled to use a deposit account with the EPO may be authorised to pay fees by means of Online Fee Payment via My.epoline.

2.2 A further condition for using Online Fee Payment via My.epoline is possession of a valid smart card and reader. Authorisation to use Online Fee Payment via My.epoline may be requested together with the applica- tion for a smart card, or subsequently.

2.3 To request authorisation together with the application for a smart card, the relevant section must be completed on the form available via the "Enrol for a smart

1 Document Type Definition. 2 EXtensible Markup Language. 3 See pp. 5 12 of this supplement.

card" link on the My.epoline home page. The completed form, signed by the account holder, is to be addressed to:

European Patent Office Branch at The Hague Procedural and Technical Support Box 5818 2280 HV Rijswijk THE NETHERLANDS Fax +31 (0)70 340-4600 support@epo.org

For subsequent authorisation the account holder should contact EPO Procedural and Technical Support at the above e-mail address.

3. Debiting the deposit account 3.1 Deposit accounts may be debited in respect of fees and expenses to be levied by the EPO and assignable to an application number.

3.2 The account is debited on the basis of the payment data supplied by the user online. Users may issue an individual debit order covering a single application or a batch debit order covering several. 4

3.3 The batch debit order must be supplied as an XML file, which should be created using the EPO Online Multipay Tool 5 or according to the DTD published in the appendix to this annex.

3.4 Confirmation of successful transmission of the debit order to the EPO is immediately indicated on screen. This confirmation may be printed out and saved by the user. The absence of such confirmation indicates that the debit order is to be regarded as not received and the payment as not made.

4 For automatic debit orders see point 3.8 below.

5 The Multipay Tool can be downloaded from the Download centre of epoline, and also from Products and Services/Online Fee Payment under www. epoline.org/portal/public (more information on its use is available on the Tutorials page of epoline).

3.5 The date of receipt of the payment at the EPO is the day on which a readable and virus-free debit order is received, provided the account contains sufficient funds.

3.6 If on the date of receipt of a debit order which relates to multiple fees, the funds are partly insufficient, the fees are debited in ascending order of application number and only to the extent that the funds are suffi- cient to cover the total of the fees indicated for each application concerned.

3.7 If the deposit account is replenished within the periods laid down in the Arrange- ments for deposit accounts and an adminis- trative fee of 5% of the shortfall but not less than euro 150 or more than euro 765 is paid, then the date of receipt of the debit order is regarded as the date of receipt of payment.

3.8 The filing and revocation of an auto- matic debit order by means of Online Fee Payment via My.epoline are subject as appropriate to the provisions of the Arrangements for the automatic debiting procedure. Confirmation of receipt of an automatic debit order or of the notice of its revocation filed by means of Online Fee Payment via My.epoline may be printed and saved by the user.

4. Inspecting the account Online users may check the balance of their deposit accounts, past transactions back to 1 January 2002 and debit orders filed under My.epoline but not yet processed, and consult the Schedule of Fees. The data, including account statements, may also be downloaded in PDF format via Online Fee Payment.

The "Fee Payment" plan shows users which of their applications are subject to the automatic debiting procedure. The "Fees due" overview includes information on the amount of each fee payable within the

following 40 days, together with the relevant fee code and the application number for which the fee is due.

5. Withdrawal of authorisation If use of Online Fee Payment via My.epoline causes difficulties, the EPO may decide to withdraw its authorisation for the service and cancel the smart card.

Appendix to Annex B.1

DTD1 for creating the XML2 file for batch payments

1 Document Type Definition. 2 EXtensible Markup Language.

Annex B.2 to the ADA

Arrangements for debiting deposit accounts by diskette

CONTENTS

1. General provisions 2. Authorisation 3. Debiting the deposit account 4. Statements of account 5. Withdrawal of authorisation

Appendix: Particulars to be supplied in the batch debit order

1. General provisions Unless otherwise stated below, the Arrangements for deposit accounts 1 apply to the use of diskettes for debiting deposit accounts.

2. Authorisation 2.1 Holders of deposit accounts may be authorised to debit them by diskette. Diskettes used for this purpose must meet data carrier specifications prescribed by the EPO and notified to users in writing.

2.2 Account holders must submit a signed request for authorisation to use this method of payment, which is likely to be worthwhile only if an average of 75 payments per diskette is made. Authorisation is given only after a successful trial run using a test diskette.

3. Debiting the deposit account 3.1 Diskettes may be used to pay fees for European patent applications or interna- tional applications provided that the application number is quoted.

1 The provisions applicable include in particular point 6.8 ADA, under which a period for payment is considered to have been observed if where appropriate after payment of the surcharge under point 6.8(b) ADA evidence is provided to the EPO that the person who made the payment despatched at a post office in a contracting state, within the period for making the payment, a package bearing the address of the EPO containing the diskette and the batch debit order. In view of the size and import- ance of payments by diskette, users are strongly advised to take the precautions suggested in point 6.8 ADA.

3.2 A deposit account may be debited only on provision of a diskette meeting the data carrier specifications and of a batch debit order giving the particulars specified in the appendix.

3.3 Payments by authorised users are considered to be made on the date on which the EPO receives the diskette and the batch debit order, provided the diskette is processable and there are sufficient funds in the account to cover the total debit.

3.4 If the diskette proves unreadable or the data on the diskette does not tally with the particulars in the batch debit order, the EPO advises by fax or e-mail the contact person named in the debit order.

3.5 If the application number given is implausible or the type of fee is not speci- fied or not known, the user is sent a printout of the payment concerned and requested to advise the EPO of the precise purpose of the payment within a specified period. Under Article 6(2) RFees, if he fails to do so, the payment is considered not to have been made.

3.6 If on the date of receipt of the diskette the deposit account does not contain suffi- cient funds to cover completely the fee payments indicated in the batch debit order, the debit is not carried out and the EPO advises accordingly, by fax or e-mail, the contact person named in the batch debit order.

3.7 If, within one month of receipt of the communication under point 3.6, the account is sufficiently replenished to enable the fees to be debited and, within the same period, an administrative fee under point 3.8 below is paid, then the date on which the batch debit order and diskette were received is regarded as that on which payment was made.

3.8 The administrative fee is 5% of the shortfall, but not less than euro 150 or more than euro 765.

4. Statements of account 4.1 Several times each month, the account holder is sent a statement of account. To enable the EPO to check any discrepancies notified by the user, the EPO will not return processed diskettes until two months after the date of receipt. After two months have elapsed, complaints can no longer be considered and the user is taken to have approved the statement of account.

4.2 Upon request, users are sent, immedi- ately after booking, a printout of the fees debited.

5. Withdrawal of authorisation If diskettes for debiting deposit accounts repeatedly cause difficulties, the EPO may withdraw its authorisation. Any payments made in this way after one month has elapsed from notification of the decision to withdraw the authorisation are deemed not to have been effected.

Appendix to Annex B.2

Particulars to be supplied in the batch debit order

Order for batch debiting by diskette

Name and address of user:

Number of user's deposit account:

Number of diskette:

Date diskette prepared:

Number of fees to be debited:

Total payments in euro:

Number (quantity) of applications:

Immediate printout of debited fees:

Yes/No

Contact person in case of problems: name telephone fax e-mail

Place Date Signature

Annex C.1 to the ADA

Administrative Agreement dated 5 April 1993 between the EPO and the epi

CONTENTS

Art. 1 Debiting deposit accounts

Art. 2 Insufficient funds Art. 3 Reverse transfer Art. 4 Complaints Art. 5 Co-operation Art. 6 Written form Art. 7 Duration

The EPO and the epi,

Having regard to Article 10 of the European Patent Convention and Article 4(a) and (d) of the Regulation on the establishment of an Institute of Professional Representatives before the European Patent Office (OJ EPO 1978, 85),

Whereas the epi constitutes an institution integrated in the framework of the European patent grant procedure and it is therefore desirable that the EPO should support the epi in the performance of its duties,

Hereby agree that annual subscriptions to the epi may be debited from the deposit accounts held with the EPO in accordance with the following provisions:

Article 1 Debiting deposit accounts

(1) The epi may have its members' annual subscriptions debited from the deposit accounts held with the EPO upon submis- sion of debit orders made out to the EPO. The debit order shall be based on one or more direct debiting mandates which shall be issued to the epi by the account holder and not be submitted to the EPO. The Arrangements for deposit accounts have been amended accordingly by the decision of the President of the EPO dated 5 April 1993 1.

1 OJ EPO 1993, 366; now point 12 ADA, see p. 12 of this supplement.

(2) Debit orders shall only be carried out with effect from 25 February and 25 June of each year as fixed debiting dates; Rule 85(1) EPC 2 governing the extension of time limits shall not apply. Debit orders shall be transmitted to the EPO on a data carrier specified by the EPO and shall include all the annual subscrip- tions to be debited from a deposit account in one overall sum. The date on which payment is considered to have been made shall be the date on which the account is debited.

Article 2 Insufficient funds

If after priority has been given to fees or costs in respect of EPO publications or services the credit balance of a deposit account on the debiting date is not sufficient to cover the epi debit order, it shall not be carried out and shall be returned to the epi. The epi may only notify the epi member and the account holder of insufficient funds in a deposit account.

Article 3 Reverse transfer

If the epi discovers that a sum should not have been debited, or that the sum debited was excessive, it may transfer the amount debited back to the relevant account using a standard debiting text.

Article 4 Complaints

Complaints from epi members or account holders relating to the implementation of the procedure shall be dealt with by the epi. Complaints received by the EPO shall be passed on to the epi for action.

Article 5 Co-operation

(1) The EPO and the epi shall provide mutual assistance in implementing the procedure.

2 Reference is to Rule 85(1) EPC 1973; see now Rule 134(1) EPC 2000.

(2) This Administrative Agreement shall be published in the Official Journal of the EPO and in epi Information. The EPO and the epi shall decide jointly on any other notices concerning its implementation 3.

Article 6 Written form

This Agreement shall constitute the entire agreement between the parties. No verbal agreements or understandings exist. The parties shall not be bound by any amend- ments or additions unless set down in writing and signed by both parties.

Article 7 Duration

(1) This Agreement shall enter into force on the date it is signed.

(2) This Agreement shall be concluded for an indefinite period. It may be terminated by either party giving six months' notice in advance of the end of the relevant calendar year. This shall not affect the right to termi- nate the Agreement without notice on serious grounds.

Done at Munich on 5 April 1993.

Paul Braendli President of the European Patent Office

Sidney David Votier President of the Council of the Institute of Professional Representatives before the European Patent Office

3 See Annex C.2, pp. 63-64 of this supplement.

Annex C.2 to the ADA

Notice re debiting of epi annual subscriptions from deposit accounts held with the EPO

Following a decision of the President of the EPO amending the Arrangements for deposit accounts (ADA) 1 and under the terms of the Administrative Agreement between the EPO and the epi 2, annual subscriptions payable by professional representatives to the epi may be debited direct.

Professional representatives wishing to use this simple payment method can issue a direct debiting mandate 3 to the epi (not the EPO) by 15 February of each year. This must be signed by the holder of the deposit account to be debited.

The epi combines several subscriptions to be debited from the same account into one overall sum, for which it then issues the EPO with a debit order. The EPO debits the account with effect from 25 February of each year (date of debit).

If, after priority payment of fees or costs in respect of EPO publications or services, the credit balance of a deposit account is not sufficient to cover the epi debit order, the latter is not carried out and is returned to the epi. The epi member is informed. Then, if the annual subscription is not cred- ited to the epi account through the standard banking procedure and at no expense to the epi by 30 April, an attempt is made to debit the higher annual subscription on 25 June. Should this attempt also prove unsuccessful, the higher annual subscrip- tion must be paid to the epi through the standard banking procedure.

1 OJ EPO 1993, 366; now point 12 ADA. 2 See Annex C.1, pp. 60-62 of this supplement. 3 OJ EPO 1993, 399. Not reprinted here; every year, in "epi information", the epi publishes an update, together with information about paying its annual subscriptions.

Subscriptions of epi members who did not issue a direct debiting mandate by the previous debiting date may also be debited with effect from 25 June. The deadline for receipt of the direct debiting mandate by the epi is then 15 June.

Information on the procedure is available only from the epi 4.

4 epi Secretariat, PO Box 260112, 80058 Munich, Germany, Tel. +49 (0)89 24205-20, Fax +49 (0)89 24205-220.

Autriche

Belgique

Bulgarie

Suisse

Chypre

Rpublique tchque

Allemagne

Danemark

Estonie

Espagne

Finlande

France

Royaume-Uni

Grce

Hongrie

Irlande

Islande

Italie

Lituanie

Luxembourg

Lettonie

Monaco

Pays-Bas

Pologne

Portugal

Roumanie

Sude

Slovnie

Slovaquie

Turquie

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