Back in 2015 the EPO introduced an alternative to approving or disapproving the text proposed for grant for a European patent application under the R71(3) procedure, this was the "waiver procedure".
If an applicant wished to make minor changes to the text proposed for grant they could file a response at the EPO to the R71(3) EPC Communication with the amendments, along with the necessary claim translations, and pay the official fee(s) whilst expressly waiving their right to receive a further R71(3) EPC Communication.
The waiver procedure had a number of problems associated with it, not least that you did not get advance notification of the final text for grant with which the EPO would actually be granting the patent.
Since the EPO R71(3) procedure is now relatively quick, meaning that if you disapprove the text for grant you get a further R71(3) Communication (or examination report) quite quickly, it seems the EPO have sensibly decided the safest option is to scrap the waiver procedure altogether (wef 1 July 2020).
I, wearing my lead of our grant and validations team hat, for one, am very happy with this decision.
Following consultation with users, the EPO has therefore decided to abolish the waiver option and so always to establish approval of the text intended for grant in accordance with the procedure laid down in Rule 71(6) EPC. As a result, the EPO will no longer process waivers which are filed in response to a communication dated 1 July 2020 or later informing the applicant of the text intended for grant.
https://www.epo.org/law-practice/legal-texts/official-journal/2020/06/a73.html
unknownx500
