Postal service providers (OJ2015, A29)

Decision of the President of the European Patent Office dated 11 March 2015 concerning the application of Rule 133 EPC on the late receipt of documents

This post has been kept in stock for some time.

Key point / analysis

Rule 133(1) has changed since 1 April 2015. The new Rule reads: "A document received late at the European Patent Office shall be deemed to have been received in due time if it was delivered to a recognised postal service provider...". Previously, the Rule read: "if it was posted, or delivered to a recognised delivery service"

Article 2 of the decision specifies the recognised postal service providers and reads:

"The postal service providers generally recognised by the EPO for the application of Rule 133 EPC shall be the designated operators within the meaning of Article 1 of the Universal Postal Convention and: Chronopost, DHL, Federal Express, flexpress, TNT, Skynet, UPS, and Transworld"

Note that "designated operators within the meaning of Article 1 of the Universal Postal Convention" are the generally the traditional post services.

Article 1  of the Universal Postal Convention seems not so easy to find. Perhaps this definition is intended: 

"Designated operator: any governmental or non-governmental entity officially designated by the member country to operate postal services and to fulfill the related obligations arising out of the Acts of the Union on its territory." 

(Article I, point 1.7, Eighth Additional Protocol to the Constitution of the Universal Postal Union)

The listed commercial companies seem to correspond to the previous "recognised delivery service", with the addition of Transworld. 

 OJ2015, A29 | Entry into force 1 April 2015 | Supersedes OJ 2007, Spec. Ed. 3, I.1