The%20European%20Patent%20Office%20and%20the%20patent%20granting%20procedure

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The European Patent Office and the patent
granting procedure

• Heli Pihlajamaa
• European Patent Office
• Directorate Patent Law (5.2.1)

10.12.2009
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European Patent Office - Mission

• As the patent office for Europe,
• we support innovation, competitiveness
• and economic growth across Europe
• through a commitment to high quality
• and efficient services delivered under
• the European Patent Convention.

The European Patent Office
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The European Patent Convention

• Establishes the European Patent Organisation
• Provides a system of law for the granting of
  European patents via a centralised procedure -
  one language, one procedure
• European patents have the effect and are subject
  to the same conditions as a national patent
• Validation after the grant of the European patent
  - postponing and avoiding costs for translation
• Centralized opposition, limitation and revocation
  procedure

The European Patent Office
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Structure of the European Patent Organisation
The European Patent Office
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36 member states

• Austria Belgium Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus
  Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland
  France Germany Greece Hungary Iceland
  Ireland Italy Latvia Liechtenstein
  Lithuania Luxembourg Former Yugoslav Republic
  of Macedonia Malta Monaco Netherlands
  Norway Poland Portugal Romania San Marino
  Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden
  Switzerland Turkey United Kingdom

European patent applications and patents can also
be extended at the applicant's request to the
following states Albania Bosnia-Herzegovina
Serbia Status July 2009
The European Patent Office
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Locations
Munich headquarters
Brussels Relations with the European
institutions and other organisations/ associatio
ns
The Hague Patent grant procedure Information
management Administration Legal services
Munich Patent grant procedure Appeals Quality
management Administration Legal
services International affairs
Vienna Patent information Administration European
affairs
Berlin Patent grant procedure Administration
The European Patent Office
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Number of staff
Around 60 are patent examiners.
Stand December 2008
The European Patent Office
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The European patent AdvantagesPatentability
criteria Grant procedureKey figuresCost
The European patent
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What advantages does a European patent have?

• Unitary protection standards in the contracting
  states
• One application, one language, one procedure
• A la carte market by possibility of excluding
  countries from designation
• Cost effective
• Cost effective when protection is sought in at
  least four contracting states
• Strong
• Thorough search 169 million documents
• Substantive examination sound legal protection

The European patent
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What is patentable?

• To be patentable, an invention must
• have a technical character (e.g. comprise a
  product, process or apparatus)
• be new
• involve an inventive step
• be industrially applicable
• Some innovations are not patentable under the
  EPC
• for example, mathematical methods or formulae,
  computer programs and business methods as such
  are not regarded as inventions
• new plant or animal varieties and inventions
  whose commercial exploitation would be contrary
  to "ordre public" or morality (e.g. the cloning
  of human life) are examples of inventions
  excluded from patentability

The European Patent
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The grant procedure at a glance
European patent application
Refusal of the application
Validation in the designated states
Applicant
Limitation or revocation proceedings
Filing and formalities examination
Substantive examination
Grant of a European patent
Appeal proceedings
Search and search report together with a
preliminary opinion on patentability
European Patent Office
Opposition proceedings
Publication of the patent specification
Publication of the application and search report
Public domain
Observations by third parties possible
The European Patent
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EPO Fees
Filing phase EUR 1230 Online applications EUR
1150
Examination phase EUR 2 305
Grant phase EUR 1 290
Total procedural fees EUR 4 825 Online
applications EUR 4 745
The European Patent
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Fees and some reductions

• Filing fee (180 or online filing 100) including
  additional fee (12 for the 36th and each
  subsequent page)
• Search fee (1050) (Reduction of the search fee
  in certain cases, for example when the earlier
  application was searched by the EPO as a national
  application)
• Where appropriate, claims fees (200 for the
  sixteenth and each subsequent claim and 500 for
  the 51st and each subsequent claim)
• Translation - 20 reduction of filing, search and
  examination fees, when non-official languages of
  the EPO being official languages of the
  Contracting States are used (Art. 14 EPC)
• Designation fee for one or more contracting
  states (500)

The European patent
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Applications filed
Direct European filings
Euro-PCT applications entering the regional
phase
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Applications by residence of applicant (2008)
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European patents granted
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Oppositions in 2008

• Oppositions were filed against 5 of granted
  European patents.
• Over one third of all opposed patents were
  revoked.

Opposition rejected
Patent revoked
28.6
39.8
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Oppositions
31.6
Granted patents
Patent maintained in amended form
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Relating to EP or PCT patent granting
procedureEPO Information Office
Munichinfomunich_at_epo.org Tel [phone]EP
O Customer Servicesinfo_at_epo.org Tel
49-89-2399INFO (2399 -4636) Thank you for
your attention !