The European patent
The European patent allows the application for and possession of a patent in most European countries, through a single procedure.
The patent application can be filed immediately or within one year from the filing in Italy of a national patent and allows for the retrieval of a patent valid not only within the EU countries, but also in other countries that joined the agreement.
[The Countries]
The countries you can select for the European patent application are:
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Germany, Denmark, Estonia, France, Finland, Spain, United Kingdom, Greece, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Lithuania, Latvia, Hungary, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, Slovenia, Slovakia, Turkey.
These countries are all considered designated by paying seven times the amount of the fee. The patent can be extended to: Albania, Bosnia Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, by paying for each one the relative designation’s fee.
[the procedure]
The procedure provides a first phase comprising the filing of the application, the examination of the formal requirements, the research of novelty and the publication, 18 months after the filing date, of the application and the search report. Then the real examination phase starts, upon the inventor’s request, which must also pay the relative examination fee, otherwise the patent application is deemed withdrawn. After the examination the patent can be granted or refused, however it is possible to object to the Office’s decision by lodging an appeal.
The European patent can derive from an independent patent application or, as a regional patent, from an International one; in this instance it is called a Euro-PCT.
[Costs and estimates]
The cost for filing a European patent application varies according to the number of the selected countries and it includes the fee of filing and search, the translation and costs for the preparation of the application. Once the research of the novelty has been completed and having paid the examination fee, the patent may be granted or rejected. If the patent is accepted, it will be necessary to file a translation in every selected country and pay the appropriate fee.
Even if it is theoretically possible to personally proceed for the filing of the European patent application, since the procedure is very complex it is advisable to consult an expert in the field.
On this site an on-line service is available for the costs evaluation, it is totally free of charge and it allows having an estimate of the expense necessary for the filing.