Notice from the European Patent Office dated 12 February 2025 concerning the adoption of gender-neutral language in the EPC Implementing Regulations.
Considering its commitment to becoming a more diverse and inclusive organisation, the European Patent Office (EPO) aims to use gender-neutral language whenever possible when drafting new legislation and amendments to its legal texts, including the EPC Implementing Regulations.
To this end, a set of amendments introducing gender-neutral language into the Implementing Regulations to the Convention on the Grant of European Patents (EPC Implementing Regulations) have been adopted by the Administrative Council, which will enter into force on 1 April 2025.
Fifty provisions in the English version of the EPC Implementing Regulations have been amended to introduce gender-neutral wording. In addition, the terms “homme du métier” and “Fachmann” in the French and German versions of Rule 31(1) EPC have been replaced by “personne du métier” and “Fachperson” respectively. Recognising the complexity of using gender-neutral language in legal texts in French and German, those versions of the EPC Implementing Regulations have been prefaced with an interpretative preamble.
Since the European Patent Convention (EPC) will not be amended analogously, the EPO states that any differences between the EPC articles, the Implementing Regulations or any secondary legislation caused by the adoption of gender-neutral language are under no circumstances intended to imply a difference in substance or a divergence from established practice. As affirmed by the Administrative Council, any gender-specific terms in the EPC are to be interpreted in a gender-neutral way and do not signify any form of gender-bias or discrimination.
This article is for information purposes only and does not constitute a legal advice.