Can an international application be filed by fax?
An international application may, together with further documents other than authorisations and priority documents, be filed by fax with the EPO as receiving Office. The fax numbers are available on the EPO website.[ 18 ]
If an international application is filed by fax, the original, i.e. the confirmation copy, is to be filed simultaneously, and the fax should state that the confirmation copy has been filed separately on paper at the same time (see point 2.2.012).
OJ 2010, 642
If the confirmation copy is not submitted within 14 days, the applicant will be invited to submit it. If the confirmation copy is not received after expiry of the time limit set in this invitation, the application will be considered withdrawn (see point 5.1.020).
As a rule, the receiving Office will acknowledge receipt of an international application at an EPO filing office by mail within four working days. The acknowledgement explicitly confirms the receipt of each separate document and item making up the international application (e.g. description, claims, abstract, data carrier, letter, etc.). The receiving Office acknowledges receipt of the international application by automatically issuing Form 1031.
On request, the EPO also acknowledges receipt of an international application directly by fax or post upon payment of an administrative fee.[ 19 ] To ensure prompt acknowledgement, the request for fax confirmation and evidence of payment of the administrative fee (e.g. a bank order) or a debit order (for accepted payment methods see 2.24.011 ff) must be enclosed with the documents or filed at the same time. The applicant should not forget to also provide a fax number to which acknowledgement of receipt is to be sent. If no fax number is indicated, the acknowledgement is sent by post to the applicant or, where applicable, his agent.
Source: http://www.epo.org/applying/international/guide-for-applicants/html/e/ga_c2_2_8.html
Date retrieved: 17 May 2021