The Euro-PCT Application Procedure

The European Regional Phase of the PCT

This is an outline of the European patent application procedure for International PCT applications entering the national/regional phase in Europe before the European Patent Office (EPO). It is intended as a short introduction for those who are new to the process. There are a great many other features, options, and rules which are not described.

A European patent application is a single patent application that can currently give rise to rights in the thirty-nine Member States of the European Patent Convention as well as a non-member Extension State and, through validation agreements, in five Validation states.

Although a European patent application is processed as a single application until granted, successful applicants ultimately obtain a bundle of separate patents in individual states. It is also possible to register a granted European patent as a Unitary patent, providing unitary protection in a number of EU states.

Note also that the European Patent Convention is an international treaty which is separate from (and in fact predates) the European Union. Accordingly, the European patent application procedure has not been affected by Brexit, although the UK, and a number of other commercially important European countries (such as Norway and Switzerland) cannot be covered by a Unitary patent.

Deadline for entering the European regional phase from a PCT application (Euro-PCT)

The deadline for entering the European regional phase is 31 months from the earliest priority date of the PCT application. If this deadline is missed then it is possible to validly enter the European regional phase within 2 months of the date of a notification from the EPO stating that the deadline has been missed. A further processing request must be made and associated fees paid. The additional cost of using further processing for this missed act is significant, the official fees being 50% of any missed official fees and potentially an additional further processing fee if the request for examination was missed.

Entering the European regional phase where the International Searching Authority was not the EPO (e.g. the USPTO)

For a typical PCT application, filed 12 months after a priority-establishing application, entry into the European regional phase requires payment of the filing fee, the search fee, the designation fee and the examination fee all together. The first renewal fee is not due for another 5 months (24 months from the filing date) but can also be paid on filing for simplicity. Where the PCT application is published in a language other than English, French or German, a translation of the specification must also be submitted on entry to the European regional phase.

Shortly after the European application is filed, the EPO will issue a communication (under Rule 161(2) EPC), setting a deadline of six months for the applicant to amend voluntarily the application and to pay any necessary excess claims fees (a fee is due for each claim in excess of 15) due for the amended application. It is common to utilise the possibility of voluntary amendment to reduce or avoid payment of excess claims fees by combining dependent claims to reduce the number of claims.

The next stage in the process is the issuance of a supplementary European Search Report (which occurs six months to a year from filing).

Shortly after issuance of the supplementary European Search Report, the EPO will issue a communication under Rule 70(2) EPC, setting a deadline of six months for the applicant to:

1. confirm the request for examination previously made;
2. comment on any objections raised in the supplementary European Search Report; and
3. submit any further amendments to the specification to address objections raised in the supplementary European Search Report

Only after these stages have been performed will the application proceed to substantive Examination. The communication under rules Rule 161(2) and that under Rule 70(2) may each be waived to accelerate the procedure, though this is not often utilised.

Entering the European regional phase where the International Searching Authority was the EPO

For a typical PCT application, filed 12 months after a priority-establishing application, entry into the European regional phase requires payment of the filing fee, the designation fee and the examination fee all together. Where the PCT application is published in a language other than English, French or German, a translation of the specification must also be submitted on entry to the European regional phase. The first renewal fee is not due for another 5 months (24 months from the filing date) but can also be paid on filing for simplicity. The search fee is not required because the EPO has already conducted the search for this application in its capacity as the International Searching Authority. The International Search Report takes the place of the European Search Report.

Shortly after the European application is filed, the EPO will issue a communication (under Rule 161(1) EPC), setting a deadline of six months for the applicant to comment on any deficiencies noted in the International Search Report, to amend the application and to pay any necessary excess claims fees (a fee is due for each claim in excess of 15) due for the amended application. It is common to reduce or entirely avoid payment of excess claims fees by combining dependent claims to reduce the number of claims.

The application then proceeds to substantive examination. The communication under Rule 161(1) may be waived to accelerate the procedure, though this is generally not utilised.

Publication

The publication of the PCT application typically takes the place of the publication of the European patent application, though the bibliographic details of the European patent application will be republished shortly after entry into the European regional phase. The EPO will republish the European patent application where the PCT publication is in a language other than English, French or German.

Prosecution

Once examination has begun, there is usually a delay of six months to several years before a first examination report issues. Some applications are found to meet the requirements of the Convention directly. However, it is more usual to receive one or more examination reports, setting out objections to the application and containing a response deadline. Common objections are that the claims define subject matter which is not novel or which does not have an inventive step although there are several further grounds on which objections may be raised. A response to an examination report will set out reasoned argumentation against the objections that have been raised and amendments to the claims will be included where appropriate. Sometimes several examination reports will be issued. If the Examining Division decides that the application does not meet the requirements of the Convention, the application will in due course be refused. However, it is common practice to request an opportunity to have an oral hearing before refusal takes place. If a case is refused, it is possible to file an appeal to the decision.

Renewal fees after filing

It is necessary to pay renewal fees annually during the European patent application procedure, from the end of the month in which the second anniversary of the filing date of the application falls. The renewal fees increase annually up to the 10th year and are constant thereafter.

Grant

Once the European Patent Office finds the application to meet the requirements of the Convention, a proof copy of the text which the EPO intends to grant is provided to the applicant. It is possible to disapprove the text for grant and/or to make changes to bibliographic information, but usually applicants will approve the text for grant and meet the other formal requirements which are to pay the grant and publication fees and file translations of the claims into French and German. If an applicant wishes to file a divisional application they should plan to do so by this time. Once a European patent is granted it is no longer possible to file an associated divisional application.

Validation and optional registration of a Unitary patent

Once the patent has been granted there is then a three-month period during which it is necessary to validate the patent in individual European countries where protection is sought. It is also possible to register a European patent as a Unitary patent, which provides protection in 17 EU countries, but the deadline to do so is only one month from the grant of the European patent. Validation can incur substantial translation costs, depending on the countries selected. We discuss this further, including a summary of the advantages and disadvantages of Unitary patent registration here.

Opposition period

Once a European patent has been granted, there is a nine-month period during which third parties may oppose the patent. Opposition proceedings follow a written procedure and typically terminate in an oral hearing. The final opposition decision is open to appeal.

Renewal fees after grant

After grant of a European Patent, it is necessary to pay renewal fees annually in respect of each territory where the patent remains in effect, and in respect of a Unitary patent, if that option is selected, to keep the patent in force for up to its maximum duration of 20 years from the filing date. Depending on the date of grant it is sometimes necessary to pay national renewal fees before validation procedures are complete.

If you have any questions about the Euro-PCT application procedure or would like a cost estimate to file a Euro-PCT application, please do not hesitate to contact us or write directly to one of our European patent attorneys.