European / Euro-PCT Patents

Albright Patents LLP have experienced proactive European patent attorneys providing you with expert European patent advice and guidance.

European Patents

Two routes to patent protection in Europe. To understand more about which one might be right for you, please watch our short video.

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A European patent provides a single patent which can protect your invention across the whole of the EU market.

Our European patent attorneys are all highly qualified with engineering and science backgrounds, and are able to write, file, prosecute and validate European Patents under the European Patent Convention ( EPC ). When granted, a European patent gives protection in the European designated states chosen by the applicant. This is an effective way of obtaining protection for an invention in a number of European States.

For European patent applications, unlike many patent attorney firms, Albright Patents LLP uses a secure and immediate online filing system. This online filing system also provides discounted official fees, and we are proud to pass on these cost-savings in full to our clients.

During examination and following grant of your European patent, we can also provide very cost-effective payment of European and national patent renewal fees.

Please contact one of our European patent attorneys using the Enquiry Form on the left for further no obligation free advice.

European Patents Overview

A European patent application provides a means of obtaining patent protection in some or all of the more than 30 contracting states of the European Patent Organisation ( EPO ) by filing a single application. Click here for a list of countries and a map.

How To Reduce European Patent Costs »

When filing a European patent application typically either claiming priority from a domestic patent application, such as a UK or USA patent application, or when converting from an International PCT patent application, there are a number of ways to reduce costs.

The European Patent Office ( EPO ) charges significant extra fees for each claim of your patent application in excess of 15. Therefore, in effect, the first 15 claims in a European patent application are free of charge, but the following claims from 16 onwards do incur heavy fees. Therefore, it is in the applicant’s interest to consider slimming their claims down when filing their European patent application.

In particular, the official fee at present for each claim from 16 to 50 is 210 Euros, and for each claim from 51 onwards incurs an official fee of 525 Euros. In coming years, these fees are unlikely to reduce and if anything will probably only get higher.

It should be remembered that, for a European patent application, typically only one independent apparatus claim, one independent method claim, and one independent product claim will be allowable. Often, US patent applications in particular, will include multiple independent apparatus claims. Therefore, when filing or submitting a European patent application, it is generally prudent to consider reducing the number of independent claims in the respective categories. Again, this should help to reduce the official filing fees.

The European Patent Office also charges for each page of the specification in excess of the first 35 pages. The specification in this case includes the description, claims, abstract and drawings. Although it is often difficult to reduce the number of pages, if the margins can be reduced, the line spacing between lines of written text reduced to 1.5, and typically the font size reduced to Times New Roman 11 point, this is generally acceptable and may result in the number of pages being reduced somewhat.

Although the saving is not a great as with the reduction in the number claims, each page in excess of the first 35 pages of the specification is charged at 13 Euros. Again, although this fee remains static for the time being, it is unlikely that it will ever go down and it is more probable that it will only ever increase. Therefore, when drafting or preparing the original patent filing, this can be taken into account.

To somewhat reduce ongoing costs during prosecution of a European patent application, some formalities can be taken care of when filing the patent application. In particular, the European Patent Office will require that each feature or element mentioned in the claims and shown in the drawings includes its respective reference numeral enclosed by brackets. By taking account of this and modifying or submitting amended claims when filing, this particular formalities objection can be avoided.

Although of not particular benefit in terms of saving costs, it should also be noted that the abstract of a European patent application should include reference numbers identifying the features of the drawings. And these reference numbers should also be in brackets.

Furthermore, European patent practice provides for the use of multiple dependent claims, therefore if filing from an originating US patent application, for example, there is no reason not to modify the claims so that the dependent claims utilize multiple dependencies if appropriate.

Filing your application »

European patents are granted for inventions that are new, involve an inventive step and are susceptible of industrial application. You must therefore be certain to keep your invention confidential until a patent application is filed.

Albright Patents will prepare a draft patent specification for your approval based on your disclosure to us. Once you have approved the specification, a patent application is filed. The application will include a description, claims, drawings and an abstract.

As with other patent applications, a European patent application can claim the priority benefit of a patent application filed up to 12 months earlier. In other words, a european patent application can be back dated to the filing date of an earlier patent, if filed within 12 months of the earlier patent.

We also have to provide the European Patent Office with information regarding your entitlement to the invention and the states which you would like to designate. Please note that this information can be provided after filing, and we will keep you informed of the requirements.

The European Search »

Publication »

Examination »

Grant »

Validation »

Opposition »

Renewal fees »

Renewal fees are payable annually from the end of the second year after filing of your European patent application to keep the application pending.

If the European patent application has been filed via the PCT route, then the PCT application counts as the European filing. As such, if the PCT application is more than two years old at the time of European regional phase entry, the first renewal fee will be payable.

Once the European patent application is granted, renewal fees then become payable in each of the states where the patent has been validated.

Albright Patents can cost-effectively pay any renewal fee to the European Patent Office or in any European Patent member state. We can also undertake payment of renewal fees in most countries around the world. Please contact us for further details.