Author: Slim Kou; Jessie Gao
The European Patent Office (EPO) examines European patent applications, enabling inventors, researchers, and companies worldwide to obtain patent protection in up to 46 countries through a centralized and uniform procedure requiring only one application. Currently, EPO has 39 member states: Albania (AL), Austria (AT), Belgium (BE), Bulgaria (BG), Switzerland (CH), Cyprus (CY), Czech Republic (CZ), Germany (DE), Denmark (DK), Estonia (EE), Spain (ES), Finland (FI), France (FR), United Kingdom (GB), Greece (GR), Croatia (HR), Hungary (HU), Ireland (IE), Iceland (IS), Italy (IT), Liechtenstein (LI), Lithuania (LT), Luxembourg (LU), Latvia (LV), Monaco (MC), North Macedonia (MK), Malta (MT), Netherlands (NL), Norway (NO), Poland (PL), Portugal (PT), Romania (RO), Serbia (RS), Sweden (SE), Slovenia (SI), Slovakia (SK), San Marino (SM), Turkey (TR), and Montenegro (ME). Additionally, there is one extension state: Bosnia and Herzegovina, BA, and 7 validation states (until 2025 April): Morocco (MA), Moldova (MD), Tunisia (TN), Cambodia (KH), Georgia (GE, had signed EAPC, but did not join), Laos (LA, effective April 1, 2025), and Costa Rica (CR, agreement signed on December 13, 2024, not yet effective).
Please note: the following twelve member states have closed the PCT national phase entry route: Belgium (BE), Cyprus (CY), France (FR), Greece (GR), Ireland (IE), Lithuania (LT), Latvia (LV), Monaco (MC), Malta (MT), Netherlands (NL), Slovenia (SI), and San Marino (SM). These states only accept new applications via the Paris Convention or post-EPO grant validation.
I. European Patent Application Routes
1. PCT Route
Under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), applicant may enter the European phase within 31 months from the earliest priority date.
Note: If the PCT application does not enter Europe, the EPO often sends a notice letter to the applicant, who may request reinstatement within 2 months of receipt.
2. Direct Application Route
Applicants may file application directly before the EPO.
II. European Patent Application Process
The European patent process comprises three stages: Filing, Substantive Examination, and Grant/Validation.
1. Filing Stage
- – Language: Applications may be filed in English, German, or French.
- – Basic Fees: Cover up to 15 claims and 35 pages of description (separate sequence listing excluded). Additional fees apply for extension states: €102 for Bosnia and Herzegovina or validations (e.g., Morocco: €240, Moldova: €200, Tunisia: €180, Laos: €180).
- -Search: The EPO issues a Search Report（ESR） before the substantial examination, and the Applicant must respond to the EESR within 6 months of its publication, pay designation/validation fees, and request substantive examination.
Maintenance Fees: The renewal fee in respect of the third year should be paid for a pending application. For PCT applications entering Europe, if the filing date passes 24 months, then the third-year renewal fee is due upon entry.
2. Substantive Examination
- – Timeline: The substantive examination request must be filed within 6 months from date of the ESR publication.
- – Substantial Examination focuses on novelty, inventive step, clarity, and unity of invention.
- – Response: Applicants have 4 months to respond to office actions, extendable twice (2 months each). Third-party observations may be submitted post-publication.
- – Oral Hearing: Applicants may request oral hearings if the EPO intends refusal.
– Appeal: Applicants may request appeal within 2 months from the date of notification of rejection.
3. Grant and Validation Sta**
3.1 Grant
Upon receiving a Notice of Intention to Grant (Communication under Rule 71(3) EPC), applicants should:
- – Check and confirm the Text for intended for grant and applicant details.
- – Submit translations of claims into one of the two other EPO languages, for the English application, the claims should be translated into German or French.
- – Pay grant/publication fees within 4 months.
3.2 Post-Grant Procedures
- – Opposition: Any third party may file opposition within 9 months from the date of Notice of Intention to Grant.
- – Limitation/Revocation: The limitation and revocation procedures allow the patent proprietor either to have the claims of the granted patent limited or to have the whole patent revoked for all the designated states. there is no restriction on the period between the grant of the patent and the filing of the request. Accordingly, the request can be filed at any time after grant, after opposition proceedings, or even after expiry of the patent.
3.3 Validation Requirements
A European patent does not automatically protect all member states (extension state and validation states). Post-grant validation must be completed within 3 months (for classical route) or 1 month (for unitary patent route).
A. the classical validation route
Applicants have to validate separately in each interested country, and the validation requirements vary by country.
B. Unitary Patent (UP)
The Unitary Patent provides protection in 18 EU countries (until April 2025), and the remaining member states of EPO can be validated via the classical route.
The following table is a Validation Requirement Matrix (based on English application):
| Countries | No Translation | Claims only (Translation) | Full Text translation | Target Language | Deadline | PoA | Official Fees | EU members | UPC members |
| GB | √ | No | — | ||||||
| IE | √ | Yes | — | √ | |||||
| FR | √ | No | — | √ | √ | ||||
| DE | √ | No | — | √ | √ | ||||
| CH | √ | Yes | — | ||||||
| LI | √ | Yes | — | ||||||
| LU | √ | No | — | √ | √ | ||||
| MC | √ | No | — | ||||||
| MT | √ | No | — | √ | √ | ||||
| BE | √ | Yes | — | √ | √ | ||||
| AL | √ | Albanian | 3M | Yes | — | ||||
| SE | √ | Swedish | 3M | No | SEK 2500 | √ | √ | ||
| FI | √ | Finnish | 3M | No | EUR 400(online) | √ | √ | ||
| NL | √ | Dutch | 3M | No | EUR 25 | √ | √ | ||
| DK | √ | Danish | 3M | No | DKK 2 000 | √ | √ | ||
| HU | √ | Hungarian | 3M | Yes | HUF 23 500（Basic, 5 Pages） | √ | |||
| IS | √ | Icelandic | 4M | No | ISK36700 | ||||
| SI | √ | Slovenian | 3M | Yes | EUR 100 | √ | √ | ||
| HR | √ | Croatian | 3M | Yes | HRK 900（online） | √ | |||
| MK | √ | Macedonian | 3M | Yes | MKD 3 000 | ||||
| LV | √ | Latvian | 3M | No | EUR 50 | √ | √ | ||
| LT | √ | Lithuanian | 3M | Yes | EUR46(Basic: 15 claims) | √ | √ | ||
| NO | √ | Norwegian | 3M | Yes | NOK 5500 | ||||
| AT | √ | German | 3M | Yes | EUR 166 (online; Basic: 15 claims) | √ | √ | ||
| ES | √ | Spanish | 3M | Yes | EUR 278.28 (online; Basic: 22 pages) | √ | |||
| IT | √ | Italian | 3M | Yes | EUR 16 | √ | √ | ||
| PT | √ | Portuguese | 3M | No | EUR 58.97(online） | √ | √ | ||
| GR | √ | Greek | 3M | Yes | EUR 350 | √ | |||
| CY | √ | Greek | 3M | Yes | EUR 100 | √ | |||
| EE | √ | Estonian | 3M | Yes | EUR 45 | √ | √ | ||
| PL | √ | Polish | 3M | Yes | PLN 90 (Basic: 10 pages） | √ | |||
| CZ | √ | Czech | 3M | Yes | CZK 2 000 | √ | |||
| SK | √ | Slovak | 3M | Yes | EUR 116 | √ | |||
| RS | √ | Serbian | 3M | Yes | RSD8570 | ||||
| BG | √ | Bulgarian | 3M | Yes | BGN 45 | √ | √ | ||
| RO | √ | Romanian | 3M | Yes | EUR 100 | √ | √ | ||
| TR | √ | Turkish | 3M | No | TRY 8910 | ||||
| SM | √ | Italian | 6M | Yes | EUR 100 | ||||
| ME | √ | Montenegrin | 3M | Yes | As national application | ||||
| BA | √ | Bosnian, Serbian, or Croatian | 3M | Yes | KM50 | ||||
| MA | √ | Arabic or French | 3M | Yes | MAD1200 | ||||
| MD | √ | Romanian | 3M | Yes | EUR100 | ||||
| TN | √ | _ | 3M | Yes | As national application | ||||
| KH | √ | Khmer | 3M | Yes | As national application | ||||
| GE | √ | Georgian | 3M | Yes | EUR 200 |
