Protect your IPR assets

European patent

A European patent is only valid in countries in which it has been registered. Registered patents are considered as national patents and must be maintained in each country separately.

Prosecution of an application for a European patent in EPO usually lasts between two and six years. The process is in two stages: First, a novelty search is carried out and it is followed by a substantial examination. If the application for a European patent is a follow-up to a PCT application and EPO has acted as the International Searching Authority, the novelty search has already been carried out during the PCT stage.

The application for a European patent may also be filed in Finnish. A European application filed in a language other than the official language of the EPO (English, German, French) must be translated into one of the official languages. Translations of the approved patent claims must be submitted in the two other official EPO languages. The need for translations during the registration of the European patent depends on the countries in which the registration is made. For example, Finland requires that the entire European patent is translated into Finnish, whereas the contracting states of the EPC that have joined the London Agreement have waived, fully or in part, the requirement for translation of the European patent.

The granting of the European patent will be followed by a nine-month opposition period. The opposition is a statement by a third party, e.g. a competitor, aimed at having a European patent already granted revoked, fully or in part. If the patent is revoked, fully or in part, the decision applies to the European patent in all countries in which it is in effect. All other measures aimed at revoking a European patent must be carried on a country-by-country basis and apply to individual countries.

A proprietor of a European patent may, in a centralised manner, restrict the protection conferred by the European patent by submitting a request to EPO at any time after the European patent has been granted. Alternatively, the protection may also be restricted nationally in specific countries.

The European patent thus provides the applicant with a consistent scope of protection in a set of European countries. Achieving the same scope of protection with separate national applications would require more work and would probably also be more expensive.