Important update: PACE search discontinued as of February 1, 2026, and additional procedural changes at the EPO
最新情報 | 27.01.2026
The EPO has recently implemented several procedural changes which are summarised on the EPO website: Strengthening patent quality: new tool for public input and accelerated examination | epo.org and below.
PACE
From 1 February 2026, the EPO will restrict the acceleration mechanism of the PACE programme to examination only. The reason for this change is that in 2024 the mean time to issue the extended/partial European search report was five and a half months. Since the EPO delivers the search results in such a timely manner, it considers that an acceleration mechanism for the search phase is no longer necessary. Further details of the revised PACE programme, including those specific to Euro-PCT applications, are given in the following Notice: OJ EPO 2025, A69 - Notice from the European Patent Office dated 16 December 2025 concerning the programme for accelerated prosecution of European patent applications ("PACE").
Enquiries as to the processing of files
In view of the above, the EPO has also updated its notice concerning the handling of enquiries as to the processing of files; see OJ EPO 2025, A70 - Notice from the European Patent Office dated 16 December 2025 concerning the handling of enquiries as to the processing of files. As before, the EPO will process and reply to enquiries under this notice only if they are filed online using EPO Form 1012. An enquiry in respect of an application which is being processed under the PACE programme, or for which a previous enquiry has been made and where an examining communication has not been issued within the set period, will automatically trigger the EPO to issue the next action within one month of receipt of the enquiry. This internal one-month deadline also existed prior to the update.
New online form for the processing of third party observations (TPO) under Art. 115 EPC
Since 15 December 2025, an updated online form for filing TPOs has been accessible at various locations on the EPO website; see Third party observations. According to OJ EPO 2025, A71 - Notice from the European Patent Office dated 16 December 2025 concerning the improved online form, the updated means of filing and the processing of third-party observations under Article 115 EPC, key features of the updated online form include:
- updated technology, with better performance and security
- intuitive design, with a layout designed to better guide users, and clearly indicating where they can file observations
- adaptive sections/fields, with relevant fields becoming visible and active only when a particular section – personal details, subject, observations, facts and evidence, summary – is selected (again making it clearer where observations can be filed)
- summary overviews, with clear and concise summaries of observations
- previews, enabling third parties to quickly preview and check their observations before filing
As before, substantiated and non-anonymous observations will trigger acceleration of the examination procedure, and the EPO will make every effort to issue the next office action within three months (similar to PACE).