It is possible to file a European application, in English, and to
prosecute the application before the European Patent Office to the
grant of a single European patent. When filing the application it is
necessary to designate those countries in which protection is required
and to pay a fee for each country designated for the first seven
countries. All of the European Union countries are part of the European
patent, together with some other countries.
Whilst the European patent application is prosecuted to grant of a single patent in English, to place the patent into effect in the designated countries it is necessary to file a translation and pay a fee at each of the national patent offices. There is no obligation to ratify a European patent in all countries designated. Whilst this is a significant cost, it occurs at the end of the process and not at the beginning. In contrast a national application in a non English speaking country needs to have a translation filed with the application at the start of the process.
A European application may be made directly or via a PCT application.
Patents in some European countries can be obtained via a PCT application either as a national patent or via a European patent. However there are a number of countries for which protection can only be obtained via a European patent via the PCT route. It is not possible to file a national patent from a PCT application for those countries.
|
Patents