Whizzkid's Handbook temporarily confiscated

Update 16 March 2012: The Handbook is now back online, having reappeared as silently as it disappeared. Thanks to the anonymous commenter below and to Fiona Mercey for letting the IPKat know.

On Friday, the IPKat welcomed the appearance of a new EPO publication - the Handbook of Quality Procedures before the EPO. 

Let us know if you spot the Handbook

The IPKat was then kindly alerted by Fiona Mercey, an Ingénieur brevets with DPI Air Liquide, that the publication had mysteriously vanished, apparently confiscated by the powers that be, much like the beloved Whizzkid's Handbook of this Kat's misspent youth. Having given it a few days, the Handbook has not reappeared, and we assume it is locked in the equivalent of the teacher's staff room. The EPO now has a holding page telling us:

The "Handbook of quality procedures before the EPO" has been temporarily removed but will be re-published soon. We would like to ask for your patience and will inform you about the status of the publication as soon as possible. 

If any readers can tell the IPKat, officially or otherwise, about the reasons for the withdrawal of this useful publication, or the likely date of its reappearance, readers will no doubt be grateful.

Not a Whistleblowers' Charter
Still on the subject of the EPO's Handbook, the IPKat's previous post triggered the following amusing observation from Gareth Probert, of Potter Clarkson. Gareth says:

I thought the most interesting part of the Handbook was section 8 and Flowchart X concerning the filing of Complaints. There is little (no?) other information from the EPO about how to make a complaint, or how the EPO handles complaints so this section is very helpful.

The Handbook tries to assure users that “There will be no negative consequences for the complainant merely because he files a complaint”, but I would feel more confident about filing a complaint if the Handbook did not have the caveat that “This document is not binding either on the EPO or on users and their representatives”…