On Thursday 13 March 2025, Luxembourg’s Ministry of the Economy and its Office for Intellectual Property (OPI) announced that the electronic online filing platform (eOLF) will be replaced from now on by a new online filing platform, "eFiling".

The new “eFiling" platform, initially developed by the European Patent Office (EPO), is already in use or is in the process of being adopted by eighteen member states of the European Patent Convention (EPC), including members of the Benelux states (Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands). A transition period, ending no later than 12 May 2025, is planned to ensure continuity between the two systems.

As reported by Luxembourg’s Ministry of the Economy, the new system will be integrated into the existing Benelux Patent Platform (BPP), a large-scale project implemented in the Benelux countries to help service the field of patents. This platform consists of a series of IT tools integrated into an infrastructure supporting the implementation, processing and monitoring of each key element of a patent throughout all stages of its lifecycle.

The ministry stated that the new electronic filing platform, being implemented as part of administrative simplification and process optimisation, will improve the current system in several ways:

- in addition to patents, it will now be possible to electronically file supplementary protection certificates (SPCs) and their accompanying documents;

- the new online platform, coupled with two-factor authentication (“2FA"), will no longer require any installation on a user's workstation, unlike the current system, which requires the use of smart cards and a compatible reader which must be physically available;

- the new “2FA” authentication system allows users to authenticate from any location, enabling access on the go and remote working, while ensuring ease of use and high security.

The ministry also reported that the transition to "eFiling" is enshrined in the cooperation agreement between the OPI and the EPO. This agreement, which was renewed in January 2025 until 2028, aims to contribute to the development of a harmonised and high-quality intellectual property environment. 

The ministry also stated that the cooperation activities “aim to provide users of the European patent system with the high-quality services they expect, to strengthen the network of national offices in the Member States through the European patent network and to promote interoperability between the EPO and national offices.”

Several key projects are at the heart of cooperation efforts between Luxembourg and the European Patent Office, including the continuous improvement of the Benelux Patent Platform.

Information and instructions on using the new "eFiling" platform are available at: https://patent.public.lu/bpp-portal/fr/web/guest/eFiling

SM