The European Patent Office handles the filing, examination and grant of European patents under the European Patent Convention (EPC). Each granted European patent then requires validation at the national level or - beginning 1 June 2023 - can acquire Unitary Patent protection in participating EU member states. Key elements of this framework include:
A single European patent application is directly filed with the EPO or through a national patent office in an EPC contracting state. The application can also be filed by way of the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) route.
A thorough substantive exam is performed to assess novelty, inventive step, and industrial applicability.
Renewal fees are paid annually to the EPO starting from the third year after filing, and after grant, they must be paid to each designated state where the patent is validated (unless covered by the Unitary Patent, which has its own fee structure).
Member states of the European Patent Organisation extend beyond the EU, offering a broad geographic scope.
The Unitary Patent aims to reduce administrative burdens by eliminating separate validation procedures in many EU countries.