2022-09-26: 《欧洲专利公约实施细则》第134条关于延期的规定适用于哪些期限？有哪些情形不能适用本条？
打印华孙事务所，2022年9月26日
问：《欧洲专利公约实施细则》第134条关于延期的规定适用于哪些期限？有哪些情形不能适用本条？
答：《欧洲专利公约实施细则》第134条（以下缩写为R. 134 EPC）就期限的延长做了规定，法条原文如下：
Rule 134 Extension of periods
(1) If a period expires on a day on which one of the filing offices of the European Patent Office under Rule 35, paragraph 1, is not open for receipt of documents or on which, for reasons other than those referred to in paragraph 2, mail is not delivered there, the period shall extend to the first day thereafter on which all the filing offices are open for receipt of documents and on which mail is delivered. The first sentence shall apply mutatis mutandis if documents filed by one of the means of electronic communication permitted by the President of the European Patent Office under Rule 2, paragraph 1, cannot be received.
(2) If a period expires on a day on which there is a general dislocation in the delivery or transmission of mail in a Contracting State, the period shall extend to the first day following the end of the interval of dislocation for parties which are resident in the State concerned or have appointed representatives with a place of business in that State. Where the State concerned is the State in which the European Patent Office is located, this provision shall apply to all parties and their representatives. This paragraph shall apply mutatis mutandis to the period referred to in Rule 37, paragraph 2.
(3) Paragraphs 1 and 2 shall apply mutatis mutandis where acts are performed with the competent authority in accordance with Article 75, paragraphs 1(b) or 2(b).
(4) The date of commencement and the end of any dislocation under paragraph 2 shall be published by the European Patent Office.
(5) Without prejudice to paragraphs 1 to 4, a party concerned may produce evidence that on any of the ten days preceding the day of expiry of a period the delivery or transmission of mail was dislocated due to an exceptional occurrence such as a natural disaster, war, civil disorder, a general breakdown in any of the means of electronic communication permitted by the President of the European Patent Office under Rule 2, paragraph 1, or other like reasons affecting the locality where the party or his representative resides or has his place of business. If the evidence produced satisfies the European Patent Office, a document received late shall be deemed to have been received in due time, provided that the mailing or the transmission was effected at the latest on the fifth day after the end of the dislocation.
实践中最常出现的延期情形为本条第（1）款，即，当法定期限截止日期落在欧专局任一受理业务的办公地点（慕尼黑总部、海牙分部，或位于柏林的处理专利申请的业务部门）不办公的日期（比如周末，或该办公地点所在地的公共假日），则该期限截止日期会被延长到欧专局上述所有办公地点均恢复办公（可接收文件）的第一天。本条第（2）（3）（4）（5）款也规定了当邮件在某一成员国无法正常投递或传输（原因包括自然灾害、战争、内乱、大范围通信故障等）时的期限延长情形。
关于本条延期规定适用于哪些期限，2022年3月1日起实施的《欧专局审查指南》（Guidelines for Examination in the European Patent Office）（以下简称《审查指南》）在第E部分第VIII-1.6.2.3章节明确了本条延期规定原则上适用于《欧洲专利公约》（包括《欧洲专利公约实施细则》）规定的所有期限，特别是比如优先权期限、PCT进入欧洲地区阶段的期限、答复欧专局各类官方通知的期限、异议期限、缴纳各类官费的期限（包括年费滞纳金的期限）。
《审查指南》明确列举以下期限可适用R. 134 EPC关于延期的规定：
- 提交文件的期限，比如答复欧专局各类官方通知的期限；
- R. 37(2) EPC规定的向某一成员国主管机构提交专利申请后向欧专局转交该申请的期限；
- A. 87(1) EPC规定的优先权期限；
- A. 99(1) EPC规定的提起异议的期限；
- R. 159(1) EPC规定的PCT申请进入欧洲阶段（欧专局作为指定局或选定局）的期限；
- 缴纳各类官费的期限（包括R. 51(2) EPC规定的年费滞纳金的六个月缴纳期限）
与此同时，《审查指南》也明确列举以下情形不适用R. 134 EPC关于延期的规定：
- 分案申请时母案的未审结（“pending”）状态：分案申请只有在母案尚处于未审结状态下才能被提起，而母案的这一未审结状态的终止日期并非某一程序性期限的截止日期，因此，母案未审结状态的终止日期——无论该状态是因母案被授权、被驳回还是被撤回/视为撤回而终止——均不能适用R. 134 EPC关于延期的规定。
- R．51(2) EPC规定的年费缴纳期限届满后六个月宽限期（需缴纳滞纳金）的起算日期不适用R. 134 EPC关于延期的规定；另外需要注意的一个特殊情况是：当PCT申请进入欧洲阶段时，第三年年费根据R. 159(1)(g) EPC规定可以在PCT申请进入欧洲阶段的31个月期限内缴纳。
- R. 51(3) EPC规定的分案申请时需缴纳的年费的到期日和本条规定的四个月期限起算日期，均不适用R. 134 EPC关于延期的规定
- 检索开始的日期（该日期涉及到检索费的返还）不适用R. 134 EPC关于延期的规定。
- 实质审查开始的日期（该日期涉及到PPH请求的提起以及审查费的返还）不适用R. 134 EPC关于延期的规定。
- 根据R. 22 EPC（关于转让登记）和R. 54 EPC（关于经认证的优先权文件）的请求被视为提起的日期不适用R. 134 EPC关于延期的规定，这是由于在前述情形下这两个日期仅是法律上的拟制，而前述请求只有在对应的官费被缴纳后才能被视为有效提起（即，缴费日期在这里才是决定性的）。
相关链接：
法条链接请见：https://www.epo.org/law-practice/legal-texts/html/epc/2020/e/r134.html
审查指南链接请见：https://www.epo.org/law-practice/legal-texts/html/guidelines/e/e_viii_1_6_2_3.htm
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