European Patent Office

EPO Profile

The European Patent Convention regulates the procedure for obtaining a European patent. A granted European patent may be valid as a regular national patent in a designated country after completion of the validation procedure in that country. European patent applications are filed through the European Patent Office (EPO).

European patents are automatically valid in Belgium, Germany, France, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Ireland, Luxembourg and the United Kingdom. If the applicant wants to obtain patent protection in other European Convention member states, validation procedures are required. Entry into force refers to the process of filing a corresponding request in a designated country, submitting a translation in that country’s language and paying maintenance fees.

Validation of European patents must be carried out in the following member states of the European Patent Convention: Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Spain, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, Slovenia, Slovakia, San Marino, Turkey as well as Serbia and Albania. The validity of European patents can be extended to Bosnia-Herzegovina and Montenegro, which are not parties to the European Patent Convention but have signed an extension agreement with the EPO.

The European Patent Office has entered into agreements with Morocco, the Republic of Moldova and Tunisia in 2010, 2013 and 2014. European patents filed on or after 1 March 2015 are valid in Morocco. European patents filed on or after 1 November 2015 are valid in Moldova. A validation agreement with Tunisia has not yet been ratified.

Intellectual Property Legal System

• European Patent Convention

International Organization/Agreement

• Patent Cooperation Treaty
• Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property