Designated countries, extension countries and effective countries of European patent applications

Many applicants do not know much about the European validation procedure. They often confuse the concepts of designated countries, extension countries and validation countries of European patents. The concepts, documents and fees of designation, extension and validation procedures are quite complicated. This article will introduce the European validation procedure.

In all European patent applications filed since 2009, applicants only need to pay one uniform official fee (the so-called "designation fee") to cover the EPC (European Patent Convention) member states. The availability of EPC member states depends on the filing date of the European application, or the filing date of the PCT application in the European regional phase.

Between October 2010 and September 2022, there were 38 EPC member states. However, from October 1, 2022, with the accession of Montenegro, the number of EPC member states has increased to 39. As of now, the designation fee is EUR 685.

Designation Fee

• For European regional phase applications, the deadline for payment of the designation fee is usually the same as the deadline for entering the European national phase, i.e. 31 months from the earliest priority date or, if no priority is claimed, from the international filing date.
• For European patent applications and European divisional applications filed directly with the EPO, the deadline for payment of the designated fees is 6 months after the publication of the European search report. If the deadline is missed, there is a short grace period of 2 months to pay the designated fees, but a 50% surcharge will be required.

Extension and entry into force

• The European Patent Office (EPO) has cooperation agreements with a number of other countries, often called extension states or validation states. Under these agreements, a European patent application can be "extended" to one or more of these countries by paying an additional official fee.
• If you pay the extension fee or validation fee of that country at the same time as the designated fee, you can also choose to complete the validation procedures in that country after the patent is authorized, that is, submit the translated documents and pay the annual fee.
  • Extension States: Applicable countries depend on the filing date:
    • For European patent applications filed after 1 October 2022, the extension only applies to: Bosnia and Herzegovina (BA) – since 1 December 2004
    • For applications submitted between October 1, 2010 and September 30, 2022, this can be extended to: Bosnia and Herzegovina (BA)
    • Montenegro (ME) — from March 1, 2010 to September 30, 2022
    • For applications filed before October 2010, it can also be extended to the following countries:
      • Slovenia (SI) March 1, 1994 – November 30, 2002
      • Lithuania (LT) July 5, 1994 – November 30, 2004
      • Latvia (LV) May 1, 1995 – June 30, 2005
      • Albania (AL) February 1, 1996 – April 30, 2010
      • Romania (RO) October 15, 1996 – February 28, 2003
      • North Macedonia (MK) November 1, 1997 – December 31, 2008
      • Croatia (HR) November 1, 2004 – September 30, 2010
      • Serbia (RS) November 1, 2004 – September 30, 2010
    • Extension fee: Each extension country is charged separately and the fee is 102 Euros.
    • The payment deadline is the same as the designated fee . If you miss the deadline, you can usually pay it within a 2-month grace period with a 50% late payment fee.
  • Validation States: The applicable countries depend on the filing date of the European application or the corresponding PCT application.
    • As of now, there are 6 countries in force, and their fees are as follows:

• The payment deadline is the same as for the designated fee.
• If you miss the deadline, you can pay it back within a grace period of approximately 2 months with a 50% late payment fee.