The President of the Boards of Appeal of the European Patent Office (EPO) decided on 9 October (OJ EPO 2026, A54, published on 30 October) that oral proceedings before a Board of Appeal may be audio recorded and, with the assistance of artificial intelligence, transcribed and processed to prepare the minutes. The decision enters into force on 1 November and applies to oral proceedings scheduled on or after that date, replacing a 2007 notice on sound-recording devices in oral proceedings.
Recordings and transcripts stay internal
- Recordings and transcripts generated from them are internal preparatory documents and do not form part of the file.
- No copy of the recording or transcript is made available to the parties or the public.
- They are deleted no later than one month after the minutes are notified.
In other words, the official minutes notified to the parties remain the only record they can see and rely on. The decision limits the use of AI to helping transcribe and process recordings for the minutes; it says nothing about AI taking part in examining or deciding cases.
No recording by participants
Recording or transmitting oral proceedings in any form by anyone other than EPO employees is prohibited.
J&C recommends that representatives at EPO appeal hearings do not count on checking their statements against a recording or transcript afterwards, and do not record the hearing themselves. Key statements, such as the version of amended claims or the withdrawal of a request, should be made clearly at the hearing, and the minutes checked promptly on receipt, raising any omission with the Board.
Source: www.epo.org
