SACEPO members meet to discuss user feedback on the 2025 Guidelines and prepare for the 2026 revision cycle

The Working Party on Guidelines (WP/G), part of the Standing Advisory Committee before the European Patent Office (SACEPO), convened on Thursday 8 May for the first of its two meetings this year. Members reviewed and discussed the user feedback received during public consultation on the latest EPC, PCT-EPO and Unitary Patent (UP) Guidelines. These Guidelines entered into force on 1 April 2025.

Public consultation: user engagement and feedback

Users submitted 303 comments in total during the public consultation on the 2025 Guidelines earlier this year. Of these comments, 133 concerned the EPC Guidelines, 39 the PCT-EPO Guidelines, and 131 the new UP Guidelines. The contributions came primarily from user group representatives. A detailed summary of results has been published on epo.org.

As in 2024, this year the Office once again shared with members its preliminary positions on many of the comments in advance of the meeting. This approach allowed discussions to focus on the most relevant items and those for which the Office had already proposed revised wording. Efforts to clarify these formulations in response to members’ feedback were especially welcomed.

Changes planned for the draft EPC and PCT-EPO Guidelines 2026

The meeting commenced with the EPO providing a comprehensive overview of the 2026 revision cycle. Regarding the content of the forthcoming draft Guidelines 2026, the Office informed members about the restructuring of the EPC Guidelines, which will see guidance on Euro-PCT applications (Part E-IX) moved to new chapters in Part A. This important change was welcomed by users as it will improve consistency and readability. Additionally, to enhance the harmonisation of the European patent system, the Office highlighted that it will start integrating references to relevant decisions from the Unified Patent Court into the Guidelines. 

These Guidelines will also reflect the “second basket of legal changes” implemented from October 2024 onwards, which were introduced to support digital transformation and simplification. The changes relate to the issuance of digitally certified electronic priority documents from the EPO, the now solely digital transmittal of patent documents cited in search reports, the improved access to multimedia citations, and the introduction of AI support for writing the minutes of oral proceedings.

The Office also confirmed that clarity-related aspects will be addressed in response to feedback from the November 2024 workshop on clarity and from SACEPO members. Further updates were provided by the Office on plans to publish the EPC Guidelines and PCT-EPO Guidelines, as well as the European Patent Convention itself, exclusively in HTML format in 2026. Users emphasised the importance of the availability of the Guidelines as PDFs and requested the Office to continue to offer this format too.

Changes planned for the draft UP Guidelines 2026

The first set of UP Guidelines will be revised to clarify certain procedural aspects. These include more detailed information regarding time limits set by the Unitary Patent Protection Division, the introduction of tools to assist users in calculating safety periods for renewal fee payments, and new sections covering topics such as the conduct of oral proceedings and methods of notification. These changes will also aim to make the procedure more transparent and easier to navigate.

Further topics pertaining to the EPC Guidelines

Further key topics discussed include the adaptation of the description. Acknowledging concerns voiced by the members, the Office explained that no changes to the Guidelines can be envisaged before a decision is issued in the pending referral to the Enlarged Board of Appeal G 1/24. The Office also drew the members’ attention to the expected referral on this topic in case T 697/22.

With regard to AI-related inventions, users considered that providing specific guidance on sufficiency of disclosure would be premature, as it may unduly restrict developments in a rapidly evolving field where there is still little case law.

In response to users expressing concerns about the patentability of antibodies, the Office proposed to address this complex issue during dedicated meeting with technical experts in the field.

PCT Rules and the definition of prior art

As for the PCT-EPO Guidelines, the meeting also addressed the upcoming changes to the PCT Rules on the definition of prior art, which enter into force in July 2025. The Office confirmed that the amended Rules will not lead to significant changes in EPO practice.

Looking ahead

The insights and recommendations from the meeting will be incorporated in the draft Guidelines 2026, which will be shared with the SACEPO WP/G members before summer 2025 for review and final input.

Participants were thanked for their comments in the user consultation and working group members for their active engagement, professionalism and constructive contributions. Members praised the Office for all the work done and look forward to continuing this meaningful dialogue at the next meeting in October 2025.

The full consultation results from both of this year's SACEPO WP/G meetings will be published on epo.org following their presentation to the Patent Law Committee in autumn 2025.