EPC 2000 – State of play nearly two years on

The European Patent Convention as revised in 2000 (EPC 2000) [1] entered into force on 13 December 2007. While the revision changed rather little in terms of substantive patent law, it did change procedural practice compared to the EPC in force before, drafted in 1973. This article looks at some key features of the European patent grant and post-grant procedures that either have changed fundamentally or have been newly introduced, and their effect on patent document collections.