The revised Guidelines for Examination in the European Patent Office (EPO) will enter into force on 1 April 2026. The new version replaces the April 2025 edition and will be made available exclusively in electronic form.
The revised Guidelines include, inter alia, changes concerning the application of the previously used “binary” standards of proof (“up to the hilt” and “balance of probabilities”). Greater emphasis will now be placed on the principle of the free evaluation of evidence. Accordingly, the decisive factor is the conviction of the deciding body.
Relevant amendments can be found in particular in Parts G-IV, 7.2.2, 7.3.4 and 7.5.2 of the Guidelines.
The EPO’s official notice is available here.
The full version of the revised Guidelines can be found here.