European Patents

The European patent process can appear complex, but we will guide you through it with easy-to-understand advice and helpful recommendations at each stage. Plus, we’ll take your business needs into account at each step.

How the European patent process works

European Patents are not EU Patents! They can provide patent coverage in all EU countries and more. So think of them as ‘EU plus’.

The European Patent system allows us to file a single application in English, which is examined centrally by the European Patent Office.

Once it is granted, you can choose the countries where you want it enforced. That includes the new Unitary Patent.

With more than a decade of experience, Phil can help you adapt the process to give you the right productions in the right markets.

  • We file your application electronically at the European Patent Office (EPO). You will receive an application number straight away. From this point until grant you have a pending patent application (what many people refer to as ‘patent pending’) in all countries that are members of the European Patent Organisation.

  • The EPO will review the application for any missing information and provide us with a timescale to respond. We’ll work with you to gather any technical details, drawings or other gaps in the paperwork.

  • The EPO will provide us with a preliminary indication of whether they think the invention described in the patent application is patentable. This includes a search report and a “search opinion” – a detailed written opinion of patentability. We’ll review this and explain what scope of protection you’re most likely to achieve.

  • Patent applications are typically published 18 months after the earliest filing date. We’ll monitor it to see if any objections are raised to the patent application.

  • Unlike in the UK, the EPO asks for renewal fees to be paid when the application is pending. We will send you reminders and take care of this for you.

  • We ask the EPO to examine the application, pay a fee and respond to the search opinion. The EPO will review our response and either proceed to allowance or issue an examination report with further objections and a deadline for response. At each round (there may be one or several) it is our job to explain those objections to you and provide our advice on how to respond.

  • The EPO then asks us to approve the final patent text, pay a grant fee and translate part of the application into French and German.

  • When we have completed stage one, a patent is granted. We then need to request that the patent is brought into effect into your chosen countries. This stage is quite admin heavy, but we will provide a detailed quote and take care of the process for you. Renewal fees must then be paid to the individual countries to keep the patent in force until it expires. This may be up to 20 years from its filing date.