Anyone who has a smart card (= user) and who has been given access by their company administrator can access the company Mailbox and read all communications. Associates (= professional representatives) can "receive" communications. That is, communications addressed to them are sent via the Mailbox.
No, you cannot forward items from the Mailbox. If you wish to forward an item, you must download it to your own computer and send it as an attachment using your own mail system, or place it on a shared drive.
No, you cannot reply to the EPO via the Mailbox. The current version of the Mailbox allows only one-way communication, from the EPO to the user. It is planned to add a reply function in a future version.
If a mail item remains unopened for five days after delivery to the Mailbox, it is removed from the Mailbox and re-routed to the EPO post room, where it is printed out and sent by post.
Doc ID |
Form description |
1133 |
Information on forthcoming publication |
1160 |
Notice drawing attention to Article 86(2) EPC |
1176 |
Notice drawing attention to Article 86(2) EPC |
1185 |
Refund 20% filing/examination fee |
1186 |
Refund search fee |
1201-1 |
Information on entry into regional phase |
1203 |
Information on forthcoming publication |
1219 |
Information on forthcoming publication - bibliographic data |
1225 |
Notice drawing attention to Article 86(2) EPC and Article 2 No.5 RFees - payment |
2057 |
Communication regarding the expiry of the time limit within which notice of opposition may be filed |
2522 |
Notice drawing attention to Article 86(2) EPC and Article 2 No.5 RFees - payment of the renewal fee plus additional fee |
2907 |
Refund of fees |
The following types of communication currently cannot be sent to the Mailbox:
These communications will continue to be sent by post until further notice.
Each Mailbox is defined by its company name. If your company has several legal entities within the same country or in different countries, you can ensure that you have more than one Mailbox by indicating different company names on individual smart card enrolment forms, e.g. "EPO The Hague", "EPO Munich", "EPO Berlin" and "EPO Vienna".
No. Once your administrator has turned on your company Mailbox and authorised your access to it, you will be sent electronic communications instead of paper. Once an item of electronic mail has been received, it is not sent by post.
The administrator can choose to set the trash to be emptied once a day, once a week, once every four weeks, or once every twelve weeks. Depending on the setting chosen, therefore, you can recover communications from the trash for up to a maximum of twelve weeks.