 |
European patent
A European patent can be obtained by filing a single application
in one of the official languages of the European Patent Office
(English, French or German), through an unitary procedure before
the EPO. The European patent is valid in as many of the contracting
states as the applicant cares to designate.
A European patent affords the same rights
in the designated contracting states
as a national patent granted in any
of these states.
The advantages of an European patent
are: Economy and efficiency, a cost-effective
and time-saving way of applying for
patent protection in several different
countries; Unitary effects in the contracting
states, Term, scope of protection, binding
text, grounds for revocation; a 'strong'
patent, every European patent has undergone
substantive examination and can be obtained
for countries which otherwise operate
only a registration system.
The EPO members are: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Switzerland, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Germany, Denmark, Hellenic Republic, Estonia, Spain, Finland, France, United Kingdom, Hungary, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Monaco, Turkey, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, Slovakia, Slovenia.
« Back | PCT System
|
|
