(1) Insofar as the written form is required in proceedings before the German Patent and Trade Mark Office in respect of applications, requests or other acts, the provisions of section 130a (1), (2) sentence 1, (5) and (6) of the Code of Civil Procedure apply accordingly.
(2) The case files of the Federal Patent Court and of the Federal Court of Justice may be kept in electronic form. The provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure on electronic documents, the electronic file and the electronic conduct of proceedings apply accordingly in all other cases, unless otherwise provided by this Act.
(3) The Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection determines, by statutory instrument not requiring the approval of the Bundesrat,
1. the date from when electronic documents may be submitted to the German Patent and Trade Mark Office and the courts, the appropriate form for processing the documents, whether an electronic signature is to be used and the form of such signature;
2. the date from when the case files may be kept in electronic form in accordance with subsection (2) and the applicable general organisational and technical conditions for the creation, keeping and storage of the electronic case files.