Many UK customers use the European Patent Office's (EPO) Online Filing (eOLF) software to file patents. In November last year, the EPO announced changes to modernise access to their online services. As a result, you will need to take action to continue accessing eOLF.
Over the coming months, the EPO will be phasing out the smart cards that are used to access eOLF in favour of two-factor authentication (2FA).
From 30 September 2024 you will no longer be able to replace smart cards that expire. From 1 January 2025, you will no longer be able to use smart cards to access eOLF at all.
To address this, the IPO will be rolling out 2FA for eOLF from September this year. Once you have started using 2FA you will no longer need a smart card.
What do I need to do to keep using eOLF?
To use 2FA you will need to install a 'soft certificate'. Each individual user will need their own soft certificate. Before you do this you should make sure that you have the latest version of eOLF installed.
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