What changes does the EPC 2000 make in the PCT protest procedure?
Under Articles 154(3) and 155(3) EPC 1973, the EPO boards of appeal are responsible for deciding on protests against the payment of an additional fee for international search or international preliminary examination. These provisions have been deleted from the revised version of the EPC. Under Rule 158(3) EPC 2000, competence for examining a protest lies exclusively with the review body in accordance with Rule 40.2(c) to (e) or Rule 68.3(c) to (e) PCT, subject to payment of a protest fee. The new single-stage protest procedure applies to international applications filed after the EPC 2000 enters into force. For international applications already pending at the date of entry into force of the EPC 2000, the two-stage procedure under Articles 154(3) and 155(3) EPC 1973 will continue to apply (see Article 1(6) of the decision of the Administrative Council of 28 June 2001, OJ EPO 2007, Special edition No. 1, 197). Depending on the date of filing of the international application, the EPO act
