MyEPO Service Upgrade - Meeting User Needs with Color Illustrations and Flexible Submission Solutions

As a continuous measure of digital transformation under Strategic Plan 2028, the European Patent Office (EPO) has announced the launch of two long-awaited enhancements to its MyEPO service. This move marks an important progress towards the full implementation of the DOCX format by 2026, which will cover the entire digital process of the Patent Granting Process.

Two features will be officially launched on October 1, 2025, and their development directly responds to user feedback, reflecting the European Patent Office's commitment to creating efficient and user centric digital tools that meet user needs and working practices:

1. Submit color or grayscale images (applicable to all users)

At present, color drawings submitted to the European Patent Office have been converted into black and white images for processing. Starting from October 1, 2025, if submitted through any electronic submission tool of the European Patent Office, users can choose to submit color or grayscale drawings. This feature is applicable to European patent applications and related electronic follow-up submissions submitted on or after October 1, 2025. The European Patent Office will rigorously examine whether the relevant documents comply with the provisions of Article 123 (2) or Article 76 of the European Patent Convention. For specific details, please refer to the announcement published by the European Patent Office in the September 2025 issue of the Official Gazette. This feature is currently not applicable to PCT international phase applications.

2. Separate PDF attachments in DOCX submission (pilot users)

Starting from October 1, 2025, pilot users who submit the 2.0 version of DOCX format online can choose to submit the attached images as separate PDF files. This eliminates the requirement to embed the attached images into a single DOCX file, providing greater flexibility for document drafting.

All systems of the European Patent Office will fully support end-to-end processing of color and grayscale drawings, and there is no need to convert them to black and white images at any stage of the European patent process (including patent application publication and authorized patent publication).

The above new regulations have officially come into effect through the Director General's decision and the updated definition of DOCX format published in the July 2025 issue of the Official Gazette. The European Patent Office will further explain the implementation details through subsequent notices.