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Registering a Patent on an International Level

What We Offer

Despite the fact that there is no such thing as an international patent, there is however a consensus of the sort dealing with the issue, an agreement which is coined as Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) which provides for a commonly accepted procedure regarding such an obvious need. After all it only makes that there had to be an agreement of the sort on an international level, given that there are already such agreements both on a local, but also on a regional level exactly because such a procedure ensures the minimum protection in terms of conceiving, producing, making use of and even buying and selling patents between one another.

 

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We are future-oriented by setting strategic long-term goals; planning ahead is not just a necessity but an inherent characteristic of our corporate identity.

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We strive for fairness by treating everyone with respect, not just courtesy.

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Our mind-set is global thus we enjoy working seamlessly across borders.

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We focus on delivering world-class legal services and advice, thus reaching for the highest standard possible means that excellence is the only threshold.

Our Services

1.Road map – Supporting documents

  1. Application process

The European Patent Office is a highly respectable let alone recognizable and accepted organization which operates according to the guidelines described under the European Patent Convention (EPC) and the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). As already explained there is no such thing as an international treaty or agreement which would automatically protect all those falling under such an agreement, however this is a most efficient way for someone to establish and protect such a right not merely in terms of national territory.

Having said that, the European Patent Convention provides for the following prerequisites:

  • Certain request for such a permit
  • Description of the patent at hand
  • Patent prerogatives, or as they are most usually called, patent claims
  • Relevant drawings, if such thing is an option, not mandatory
  • A summary

The language in which the application shall be filed is not specified in a strict way, despite the fact that English, German and French are perceived as the official languages of the process. It has to be noted, though, that as long as someone files an application in these certain languages, no translation is further needed. In the same line of reasoning, it has to be stressed that the services of a legal professional are rendered mandatory for all those applicants who happen to be non-European residents, while and in terms of European citizens such a precondition is not to be taken into consideration at all, even though a legal professional’s input is always welcome.

If someone happens to have his/ her patent already registered in terms of national borders, it is required to provide all such necessary information, even more so if that certain someone is a non-European resident

B.Examination process

The examination process evolves around the notion of whether all necessary prerequisites have been met, while all certain and specified supporting documents have been presented in a way that a certain date is to be properly considered as filing date. Those prerequisites read as follows:

  • A specifically phrased plea that a European patent is to be granted
  • Details of the applicant at hand
  • Brief description of the patent to be established
  • If that is the case, details of a previously sought for patent;

In case of no related claims, the process moves forward within two months’ time if something is to be added within this exact period of time

Once this time period goes by, a new period comes along characterized by a number of steps which are there to establish whether specific prerequisites of the application process have been met accordingly, as for instance both the structure and the actual content of the request at hand, the drawings presented – if any, as already said – , the brief summary, the info relating to the person presented as the inventor, the appointment of a legal representative through for instance a notarized proxy, translations if need be, and of course and as always is the case in such occasions, proof of payment of fees.

2.Fees to be paid at all times

Administrative Fees

Amounts

1. Fee of International Filing

1.217,  00€

1a. Additional Fee (if application more than 35 pages)

15,  00€ for the 36th and each subsequent page

1b. Additional fee (in case of a divisional application filed in respect of any earlier application which in itself constitutes a divisional application)

210,  00€

2. Search fee in terms  of an international search

1.775,  00€

3. Designation fee for one or more Contracting States

 

585,  00€

4a. Renewal fees for 3rd year

 

470,  00€

4b. Renewal fees for 4th year

 

585,  00€

5. Examination fee for an international application filed on or after 1 July 2005 for which no supplementary European search report is drawn up

 

1.825,  00€

 

3.Publication process

As long as everything rolls out according to plan, it takes 18 moths for the application as such to be published in terms either of the filing, or of the priority date. There are six months following that procedure in which time all applicants are allowed and welcomed to ask for – what is called – a substantive examination, and/ or for an applicant who had already requested an examination procedure, to have it initiated by confirming his/ her call

4.Protection enjoyed

What needs to be remembered at all times is that any patent right is not for life. Because of the way a patent can change and reshape common thinking, the idea is that patents are to be exploited properly for the common good: both investors, but also consumers are taken into consideration, thus what is mostly projected and safeguarded here is the promotion of knowledge, research and development. So, of course, successful ideas should enjoy certain rights – and that is what we are looking for to present and establish here- but, please bear in mind, that patent proprietors enjoy such a monopoly of use only for a certain period of time.

5.European Patent Convention: wording, worries, members

The idea of a patent is to acknowledge a certain light right to a certain person, in a certain specified country, and for a certain specified period of time in order, on one hand, to secure that person’s right, and on the other, to prevent other parties to make commercial use of that right if no such certain specific authorization has been provided to that end. Thus this commonly agreed upon and accepted Convention according to which a common ground has been established in order for patent owners to enjoy easier, cheaper let alone more robust protection in terms of their work within the territories of the contracting states to EPC.
These contracting states in detail read as follows:
Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom.
Bear in mind, that there are also a number of countries that despite the fact that geographically speaking they have no connection whatsoever to Europe, e.g. they do not even share borders of any of its nation-states, however they have decided to become signatories to it, either as extension states e.g. Montenegro, or as validation states e.g. Cambodia
Each contracting enjoys a separate status quo in terms of patent protection by giving to the proprietor certain rights which are to be protected only at a national level. In case the right to be protected is not actually a specified right but a process, the protection cloak is thereby extended to the products i.e. to the actual outcome of the process.
Last but not least, any infringement is dealt with on a national level basis. Please, also note that any patent following a published national application must obtain, as minimum content, a right to reasonable compensation exactly in case of an infringement.

6.Time restrictions

Within one (1) month’s time after the proper filing of an application has taken place, the relevant fees regarding filing, search, claims and additional fee have to be paid, while within four (4) months’ time the precious and sought for certificate is issued and acquired accordingly.
Following the lapse of sixteen (16) months’ time as of the date of application filing, the designation/ appointment as inventor comes along, and in two months’ time after this just aforementioned event the application as such is to be published.
Please, at all times remember to pay renewal fees for the third year which is to occur within a time frame of 24 months.

Key Contacts

Oikonomakis Christos

Papageorgiou Zoi

Mitrogianni Aikaterini

Zgurov Dobrin

Papadimitriou Margarita

For more information on Registering a Patent

Please contact us on 800 11 500500 (Free Phone Number/Assignor Service – 24/7), or

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