Validations

European patent validation is a step that follow after grant of a European patent

Validation is the process of registering your granted European patent within the national patent offices of the 39 Contracting states where you would like to own an enforceable right. You can choose any number of countries that are part of the European Patent Organization. 

The contracting states currently are: Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and United Kingdom. 

Granted European patent have effect in all these countries and for that reason the national patent offices will not examine your invention again. However, the steps, requirements and costs vary from country to country.

The steps of validation (requirements)

  1. Countries where the granted European patent is automatically valid:

Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco and Switzerland and the United Kingdom

In order to have an enforceable right in these member states, renewal fees must be paid directly to the national patent offices every year. (No further documentation or translation is necessary)

  1. Countries, where the claims have to be translated:

Albania, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, Hungary, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Netherlands, Norway, Slovenia and Sweden

In these countries an official fee will have to be paid as well, and in some of the countries a Power of Attorney form also must be filed. Furthermore, renewal fees must be paid directly to the national patent offices of these countries every year.

  1. Countries, where the full patent document must be translated:

Austria (unless the patent was granted in German), Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Italy, Malta (but only if the patent document is not in English), Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain and Turkey

In these countries an official fee will have to be paid as well, and in some of the countries a Power of Attorney form also must be filed. Furthermore, renewal fees must be paid directly to the national patent offices of these countries every year.

Deadline

The validation is possible within 3 months from the publication of the grant of the patent and B1 document in European patent register

There are some countries where the period for validation is longer, such as Iceland (deadline: 4 months from the date of the grant) and San Marino (deadline: 6 months from the date of the grant). Furthermore, there are some member states where the extension of the 3-month-long time period is possible for an additional fee, for example Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain and Turkey

The costs of validation

Basically, there are 3 types of fees when validating European patent:

  • Service fees (patent attorney fees handling the validation)
  • Official fees (payable to the national patent offices)
  • Translation fees 

To receive exact validation costs of your granted patent in desired countries please send us an e-mail and we will send he best offer within couple of hours.