Patent Services

European invention patent

Precautions:

1. After the application, the European Patent Office (EPO) issues an application receipt within 3-5 working days. The entire European patent process from application to grant takes approximately 3 years, with a protection period of 20 years 

2. After the European patent is granted, it takes effect directly in Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Ireland, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, and Monaco, because the official languages of these countries include at least one of the official languages of the European Patent Office (English, German, and French). Therefore, according to the London Agreement, no translation is required after the European patent is granted, and it takes effect in these countries. Some countries require the entire content of the European patent to be translated into the language of that country and submitted to the country of effect for the European patent to take effect there. The registration process must then be completed in these countries, at which point payment of European patent renewal fees ceases, but annual fees or renewal fees must be paid on time according to the requirements of each different country of effect. The fees for this stage are charged according to the requirements of the country of effect.