The European Patent Office allows one to file a single "regional" application instead of filing an application in every European country individually. The application is filed and examined in one centralized patent office called the European Patent Office (EPO).
Once the EP patent is granted, the applicant can extend the protection in any of the European member countries through a validation procedure. This puts into effect the patent protection in those selected countries.
The EPO Filing Guide describes the process for validating a granted European patent.
The guide includes:
- Steps following the grant of the EP application
- Timeline from priority filing through EP Validation
- Glossary of key terms
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
