Once the European patent is granted, the process is not over… You must make the patent effective in the countries of your choice.
National validation
Indeed, if you do nothing, the European patent will have no effect.
Although A2(2) EPC states that the European patent has the same effects as a national patent, it is still necessary to complete certain formalities to ensure these effects.
To validate a European patent in a country, you must have:
- validly designated that country during the examination phase, and
- met the national requirements.
Prior designation of countries
Formal act of designation
During the grant procedure for a European patent, it is necessary to designate all the countries for which protection is sought.
This designation is made at the time of filing, in the request for grant of the patent.
Today, all member states of the convention are deemed to be designated in the request for grant (A79(1) EPC). Before December 13, 2007, it was necessary to designate the different countries individually (A79(1) EPC73).
Payment of designation fees
Once designated, an official fee must be paid for each country.
The designation fee must be paid within a period of 6 months from the date on which the European Patent Bulletin mentioned the publication of the European search report (R39(1) EPC or A79(2) EPC73).
Note, however, that for an application filed on or after April 1, 2009, the amount of the designation fee is fixed and does not depend on the number of countries (A2(1) RFees).
Before this date, the amount depended on the number of countries (A2 RFees 1973, knowing that designation fees were deemed paid for all states if an amount equal to seven times the unit fee had been paid).
National requirements
Possible translation of the European patent
Any state may require, if the patent is not drafted in one of its official languages, that a translation into one of its official languages be provided (A65(1) EPC).
The translation must be provided within a minimum period of 3 months from the publication of the mention of grant, but a longer period may of course be granted (A65(1) EPC).
Publication fees may be required (A65(2) EPC).
London Agreement
The London Agreement is an international treaty (adopted under A65(1) EPC) limiting, for the contracting states, the level of translation required when validating a European patent in their territory.
This agreement entered into force on May 1, 2008 (and applies to applications not yet granted).
Maximum requirements for validation
Any country sharing an official language with one of the EPO languages waives the translation requirement (A1(1) of the Protocol).
Any country not sharing an official language with one of the EPO languages must select at least one official language of the EPO and must waive the translation requirement for the application (excluding claims) if it is provided in that language (A1(2) of the Protocol). However, it may require a translation of the claims (A1(3) of the Protocol).
More flexible rules may, of course, be implemented (A1(4) of the Protocol).
Possible requirements in case of disputes
In any event, states may, in the event of disputes relating to a European patent, require, at the expense of the proprietor, a full translation of the patent in an official language of the country (A2 of the Protocol):
- at the request of the alleged infringer;
- at the request of a competent court or quasi-judicial authority.
Only France, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein have provisions to this effect.
Summary
I have attempted to provide a summary table of national requirements based on Table IV.
| Country (ext. if *) | validation official fees | official fee deadline (from date of publication of grant) | Ratification of London Agreement | full translation (national language) | claims translation (national language) | claims translation (national language) and description in English | translation deadline (from date of publication of grant) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Albania | ALL 10000 | 3 months | X | – | – | X | 3 months | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Germany | – | – | X | – | – | – | – | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Austria | 186€ + 135€ per 15-page block from the 16th page onward | 3 months | – | X | – | – | 3 months | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Belgium | – | – | X | – | – | – | – | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bosnia and Herzegovina* | publication official fee | 3 months | – | – | X | – | 3 months | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bulgaria | 50 BGN + 80 BGN + 10 BGN per page (including drawings) beyond the 10th | 3 months | – | X | – | – | 3 months | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cyprus | 100 | 3 months | – | X | – | – | 3 months | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Croatia | Yes | 3 months | X | – | – | X | 3 months | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Denmark | 1,050 DKK + 80 DKK per page (including drawings) beyond the 35th | 3 months | X | – | – | X (description may be in Danish) | 3 months | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spain | 317.75€ + 12.77€ per page beyond the 22nd (reduction for electronic format) | 1 month (from submission of translation) | – | X | – | – | 3 months | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Estonia | 44.73€ + 31.95€ surcharge | 3 months | – | X | – | – | 3 months (+2 months with surcharge) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia | 3,000 MKD | 3 months | X | – | X | – | 3 months | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Finland | 450€ or 350€ electronically | 3 months | X | – | – | X (description may be in Swedish if the applicant is Swedish) | 3 months | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| France | – | – | X | – | – | – | – | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Greece | 350 | 3 months (but no later than filing of translation) | – | X | – | – | 3 months | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hungary | 23,500 HUF + 3,500 HUF per page from the 6th page onward | 2 months (from submission of translation) | X | – | – | X (description may be in Hungarian) | 3 months (+ 3 months with surcharge) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ireland | – | – | X | – | – | – | – | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Iceland | 22,000 ISK | 4 months | X | X (description may be in Icelandic) | 4 months | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Italy | – | – | – | X | – | – | 3 months | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Latvia | 35 LVL (25 LVL for electronic filing) | 3 months | X | – | X | – | 3 months | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lithuania | 160 LTL + 50 LTL per claim from the 16th onward | 3 months | X | – | X | – | 3 months | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Luxembourg | – | – | X | – | – | – | – | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Malta | – | – | – | X | – | – | 3 months | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Monaco | – | – | X | – | – | – | – | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Montenegro* | Yes | 3 months | – | – | X | – | 3 months | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Norway | 1,200 NOK + 250 NOK per page (including drawings) beyond the 14th | 3 months | X | – | – | X | 3 months | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Netherlands | 25 | 3 months | X | – | – | X (description may be in Dutch) | 3 months | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Poland | 90 PLN + 10 PLN per page beyond the 10th | 3 months (from invitation to pay) | – | X | – | – | 3 months | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Portugal | 104.50€ (52.25€ for electronic filing) | 3 months (+1 month with
This table was last updated on August 30, 2013. Simple, right? Text governing before national courtsIn nullity actions, the governing text is the text as filed (A70(2) EPC) or, failing that, the text in the language of the proceedings (A70(1) EPC). In other cases (particularly in infringement actions), member states may provide that, if the translations submitted confer a scope of protection narrower than that conferred by the patent as granted in the language of the proceedings, those translations may be the governing text (A70(3) EPC). Today, all member states have implemented this possibility in their national law, except for Germany and Belgium. In any event, the proprietor must be allowed to file a revised translation (A70(4) a) EPC). This translation may (depending on national law) have no effect for the future for persons who have in good faith begun to exploit (or have made serious and effective preparations for the exploitation of) the actual invention (A70(4) b) EPC). National autonomyThe various national « parts » of the European patent are entirely autonomous: thus, the revocation of a patent in one member country has NO effect on the other national « parts » of that patent. If a third party wishes to obtain the revocation of a European patent, it must initiate legal proceedings in all countries where it wishes to be free to exploit the invention. Validation outside member countriesMoroccoIt is possible to « validate » the European patent in Morocco, even though it is not a member of the EPC. This validation is possible for European and PCT applications filed as of March 1, 2015 (« Validation of European patents in Morocco (MA) as of March 1, 2015« , OJ 2015, A20, point 4.1); The validation request is made by paying a validation official fee of [montant_epo default= »240 € » name= »Validation Morocco – OJ 2015, A20″] to the EPO (« Validation of European patents in Morocco (MA) as of March 1, 2015« , OJ 2015, A20, point 4.2):
Upon expiry of this time limit, an additional period of 2 months will be available to pay the validation official fee with a 50% surcharge (« Validation of European patents in Morocco (MA) as of March 1, 2015« , OJ 2015, A20, point 4.3). MoldovaThe same applies to Moldova (« Validation of European patents in the Republic of Moldova (MD) as from 1st November 2015 » OJ 2015, A85). The request for validation shall be made by payment of a validation official fee of [montant_epo default= »200 € » name= »Validation moldavie – JO 2015, A85″] to the EPO (« Validation of European patents in the Republic of Moldova (MD) as from 1st November 2015 » OJ 2015, A85, point 4.2):
Upon expiry of this time limit, an additional period of 2 months shall be available for payment of the validation official fee plus a surcharge of 50 % (« Validation of European patents in the Republic of Moldova (MD) as from 1st November 2015 » OJ 2015, A85, point 4.3). CambodiaThe same applies to Cambodia (« Validation of European patents in Cambodia (KH) as from 1st March 2018« , OJ 2018, A16). The request for validation shall be made by payment of a validation official fee of [montant_epo default= »180 € » name= »Validation Cambodge – JO 2018, A16″] to the EPO (« Validation of European patents in Cambodia (KH) as from 1st March 2018« , OJ 2018, A16, point 4.2):
Upon expiry of this time limit, an additional period of 2 months shall be available for payment of the validation official fee plus a surcharge of 50 % (« Validation of European patents in Cambodia (KH) as from 1st March 2018« , OJ 2018, A16, point 4.3). TunisiaThe same applies to Tunisia (« Validation of European patents in Tunisia (TN) as from 1 December 2017« , OJ 2017, A85). The request for validation shall be made by payment of a validation official fee of [montant_epo default= »180 € » name= »Validation Tunisie – JO 2017, A85″] to the EPO (« Validation of European patents in Tunisia (TN) as from 1 December 2017« , OJ 2017, A85, point 4.2):
Upon expiry of this time limit, an additional period of 2 months shall be available for payment of the validation official fee plus a surcharge of 50 % (« Validation of European patents in Tunisia (TN) as from 1 December 2017« , OJ 2017, A85, point 4.3). Unitary effectThe origin of the unitary patentFaced with the complexity of revoking a patent and the validation costs for applicants, the member states have sought to simplify the system for over 60 years. However, diplomatic negotiations repeatedly failed due to the mountains of national requirements from the various member states (choice of official languages, competent authorities and their location, etc.). Fortunately, some member states (all except Italy and Spain) reached an agreement to define what is now known as the « unitary patent »: a true single patent covering the territories of all member states. The principlesIt is now complex to define its exact contours, as not everything is set in stone, but the main principles are known. In broad terms, the grant procedure remains the same as that of the European patent. However, instead of validating the latter in a given country, it will be possible to choose the « unitary effect » (a sort of « meta-validation »). Translation requirementsIn principle, it will only be necessary to translate the claims into the two other official languages of the Office. No other translations will be required. Amount of official feesAt present, nothing has been decided, so I prefer not to say anything. Focus on annual official fees after grantPrincipleNormally, from the date of publication of the mention of grant, national offices are responsible for collecting annual official fees (A141(1) EPC together with A86(2) EPC). Late paymentEvery state must allow late payment of annual official fees during a minimum period of 6 months after the due date (A5bis Paris Convention). A surcharge may be required (A5bis Paris Convention). A minimum of 2 months for the first due dateIf an annual official fee is due within 2 months after the publication of the mention of grant, it may be paid, without surcharge, within this 2-month period (A141(2) EPC).  Un commentaire :Laisser un commentaire |
Etudiante en DU de PI, je consulte avec toujours beaucoup d’intérêt votre site. C’est en effet une mine de renseignements techniques très bien expliqués.
Vous vous retrouvez donc dans la sitographie de mon mémoire.
Alors MERCI !