- European
The EU design patent protects the appearance of a product, and the scope of protection of the rights extends to the member states of the EU; European patents protect inventions, products, or corresponding methods, including but not limited to EU member states. Currently, European patents can be effective in 42 countries, including the 38 member states of the European Patent Convention, 2 extension states (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro), as well as Morocco and the Republic of Moldova.
Albania (AL), Austria (AT), Belgium (BE) Bulgaria (BG), Switzerland (CH), Cyprus (CY), Czech Republic (CZ), Germany (DE), Denmark (DK), Estonia (EE), Spain (ES), Finland (FI), France (FR), Britain (GB), Greece (GR), Croatia (HR), Hungary (HU), Ireland (IE), Iceland (IS), Italy (IT), Liechtenstein (LI), Lithuania (LT), Luxembourg (LU), Latvia (LV), Monaco (MC), Macedonia (MK), Malta (MT), Netherlands (NL), Norway (NO), Poland (PL), Portugal (PT), Romania (RO), Serbia (RS), Sweden (SE), Slovenia (SI), Slovakia (SK), San Marino (SM), Türkiye (TR)
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Patent application language
English, German, French
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Patent application pathway
1. Submit the application directly to the European Patent Office;
2. PCT pathway;
3. Pathways to the Paris Convention -
Patent protection period
20 years from the date of application
Applicants can submit applications to the European Patent Office in one of the three official languages: English, French, and German. About a month after submitting the application, the European Commission will issue a notification.
When submitting an application, a search request must be made and a search fee must be paid. Received a search report from the European Patent Office approximately 2 years from the date of application, along with a preliminary examination opinion on the patentability of the application.
The European patent application will be published 18 months from the date of filing.
The applicant shall submit a request for substantive examination at the same time as the application or within 6 months from the date of publication of the search report by the European Patent Office.
After the examination is approved, the European Patent Office will issue a copy of the authorization notice.
In European member states, after receiving the authorization notice, the applicant must generally decide to select the effective country from the designated country list and notify the European Patent Office in which countries the patent is effective.
The entire process takes approximately 3 to 5 years.
According to the Paris Convention - Required Information for Invention Applications:
1. Name, nationality, and address information of the applicant and inventor;
2. Copy of priority proof document or DAS code (if any);
3. Provide the search results of the Chinese priority application, if available;
4. Power of attorney;
5. For English application documents, if there are any active modifications, it is best to submit the original translation and the revised reference page;
