THE EPO HAS ANNOUNCED IT WILL CEASE ITS 10 DAY RULE

Communications from the European Patent Office (EPO), which include official actions, were originally sent by registered letter and the rules were written to take this into account and assumed that such communication would take ten days to reach its destination, thereby creating a ten day grace period within which to file a response.  Communications are now electronic and the ten day grace period is no longer required.

For communications issued on or after November 1, 2023, the ten day grace period will no longer be applicable and a response will be due in accordance with the actual term set out in the communication.