The “10-day” rule, which determines how the response deadlines to certain European Patent Office (EPO) communications are calculated, is to be abandoned from 1 November 2023. The 10 day rule was introduced to compensate for postal delays but is no longer considered necessary since most documents are issued electronically.
Communications issued from 1 November 2023 will not be subject to the 10 day rule. However, care should be taken for the few months after 1 November 2023, as communications issued prior to 1 November 2023 may still be subject to the 10 day rule even though the deadline for response is after 1 November 2023.