A European patent is a protection title imposed on inventions. It is granted by the European Patent Office on the basis of the European Patent Convention. It is valid in the territories of the member states of the European Patent Organisation. Of course, with one application and its successful acceptance, an invention is protected in many countries. The procedure to grant a European patent usually takes 3 to 5 years from the filing date. Read the article to the end to find out what a European patent is.
Who can apply for a European patent?
Any natural or legal person, regardless of nationality or place of residence, can apply for a European patent.
Where can I file for a European patent?
There are many ways to file an application. You can do it directly at the European Patent Office (EPO) in Munich, Berlin or The Hague or through the central industrial property office of any member state (e.g. Patent Office of the Republic of Poland). The application can be delivered either in person or by sending an application by post or electronically or via the EPO Web site.
What does the application have to contain?
First of all, apart from a completed application for the grant of a European patent, it must contain a description of the invention, one or more patent claims, a drawing cited in the description or claims and a summary of the invention. The application can be filed in any language but a translation into one of the official EPO languages (English, German or French), which will be the language of the proceedings, must be filed within 2 months of the filing date. Within a maximum of one month from the filing date, the filing fee and the search fee must be paid to an EPO bank account. If the application includes more than 15 patent claims, a fee shall be paid for each additional claim.
In which countries is a European patent valid?
There are 38 member countries of the EOP. These are:
- Albania,
- Austria,
- Belgium,
- Bulgaria,
- Croatia,
- Cyprus,
- Czech Republic,
- Denmark,
- Estonia,
- Finland,
- France,
- Germany,
- Greece,
- Hungary,
- Iceland,
- Ireland,
- Italy,
- Latvia,
- Liechtenstein,
- Lithuania,
- Luxembourg,
- Northern Macedonia,
- Malta,
- Monaco,
- Spain,
- Netherlands,
- Norway,
- Poland,
- Portugal,
- Romania,
- San Marino,
- Serbia,
- Slovakia,
- Slovenia,
- Sweden,
- Switzerland.
Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro, although not Member States, have undertaken to recognize in their territory the protection of inventions resulting from the grant of a European patent.