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replicates that text.
As of 1 April 2022, the EPO will add a
functionality for managing deposit accounts to the central service for
making and facilitating fee payments and claiming refunds – Central Fee
Payment.
1. Central Fee Payment (CFP) was launched in
September 2021 following a first set of improvements made in the then
existing online service for making payments and claiming refunds.[ 1 ]
The aim of CFP is to offer a central service for paying fees and
claiming refunds online, across the entire patent grant procedure and
via all permitted payment methods. To allow for a smooth transition from
Online Fee Payment (OFP) to CFP, we have opted for a phased migration
of functionalities, striving for the full deployment of CFP and the
decommissioning of OFP in September 2022.
2. The next phase of the migration process
starts on 1 April 2022 when CFP will be extended to offer an initial set
of features for managing deposit accounts, such as an overview of
booked and pending transactions. We will migrate the remaining OFP
functionalities to CFP, including the use of the automatic debiting
procedure, in September 2022. Until then, both systems will run in
parallel. However, as OFP will be decommissioned, we strongly encourage
you to begin familiarising yourself with CFP and start using it as soon
as possible.
3. The present notice explains the features
for managing deposit accounts that have already been migrated to CFP
(point I). It also provides information on the format for filing batch
debit orders using CFP (point II). Nearer the service’s full deployment
date in September, we will publish a comprehensive notice on CFP and all
its functionalities, including all the information already published to
date. That notice will then provide you with a single point of
reference for all CFP functionalities.
I. Deposit account management in CFP
4. As of 1 April 2022, when accessing CFP with your EPO smart card,[ 2 ]
you can choose between options to pay fees, claim refunds or manage
deposit accounts. You can then either proceed to your deposit account
overview page by selecting Deposit account management or choose the option Manage deposit account user rights to access the standard functionalities[ 3 ] for distributing or reallocating user rights for your deposit account.
5. The Overview tab shows details of
your deposit account as well as your account balance and the total
number of pending orders (including automatic and other online debit
orders) at the time of signing in. If your smart card is linked to
multiple deposit accounts, you can choose between the different accounts
in the drop-down menu.
6. The Transactions tab shows a list
of all transactions booked within the last 40 days. You can access
transactions booked within the last two years using the filter function.
Pending orders are displayed for the next 40 days. You can switch
between booked and pending orders via the associated drop-down menu.
Please note that CFP will not automatically issue periodic account
statements. You can however create individual deposit account statements
as needed by defining the required time period using the filter menu
and download them in PDF or CSV format. You can also filter your
transactions by application number, fee code or procedure (PCT, EP, UP).
7. You can continue to use OFP to file your
debit orders and manage your deposit accounts until it is decommissioned
in September 2022. Please note however that if you submit debit orders
using both OFP and CFP, only the overview of pending orders in CFP will
accurately reflect your current account status. This is because any
debit orders filed via CFP will not be visible in the list of pending
orders in OFP. CFP, on the other hand, will correctly display all
pending orders irrespective of how they were filed. Therefore, in order
to maintain an accurate overview of your pending orders and account
balance, we strongly recommend making full use of CFP and familiarising
yourself with its new functionalities as soon as possible before OFP is
finally decommissioned in September 2022.
II. Format for filing fee payment files in CFP (“batch payments”)
8. Batch payments can be uploaded in CFP either in XML format or as CSV files.[ 4 ] As of 1 April 2022, XML batch payments submitted via CFP must use the format batch-payment-v2-00.dtd.[ 5 ]
You are therefore strongly encouraged to update your batch payments to
this format as soon as possible. If you encounter problems uploading
batch payment files, please make sure you are using the correct XML
format. Do not hesitate to get in touch with us via the contact form[ 6 ]
if you need assistance. If you are currently using the Multipay Tool to
create your batch payments, please be aware that it will be
decommissioned together with OFP in September 2022.
9. This notice enters into force on 1 April 2022.
[ 1 ] See Notice from the European Patent Office dated 13 July 2021 concerning Central Fee Payment, OJ EPO 2021, A61.
[ 2 ] Please note that the Deposit account management functionality is not available when accessing CFP using only your user name and password (see OJ EPO 2021, A61).
[ 3 ] For further information on these functionalities, please consult the FAQ on the EPO website at epo.org/applying/online-services/administration/faq.html.
[ 4 ] See Notice from the European Patent Office dated 13 July 2021 concerning Central Fee Payment (OJ EPO 2021, A61).
[ 5 ] Further technical information on the format of batch payments is available on the EPO website under epo.org/applying/online-services/fee-payment/batch-payments-documentation.html.