Re-establishment of rights in European patent registration procedure

The restitution in integrum or re-establishment of rights under the European patent Convention (EPC) is a means of redress available to an applicant or patent proprietor who has failed to meet a time limit in spite of exercising “all due care required by the circumstances”. The legal basis for this means of redress is provided in art. 122 of the EPC . If the request for re-establishment of rights is accepted , the applicant or patent proprietor is re-established on its rights , as if the time limit had been duly met.

The re-establishment of rights is available for those time limits for which further processing as institute is ruled out. However , this will be granted only if the applicant or patent proprietor was unable to meet the time limit despite taking all due care required by the circumstances.

If the applicant is acting through patent representative , the application for re-establishment will be granted only in the representative has also taken the care demanded of the applicant.

Re-establishment of rights is excluded in respect of the time limits for which further processing is available Re-establishment of rights and further processing are not available for missed periods for payment of extension fees.

Application for re-establishment of rights must be filled within two months from removal of the cause of non – compliance. The omitted act must be completed within the same period . Applications are admissible only within the year immediately following the missed time limit. Requests for re-establishment of rights in respect of any of the periods specified in Art. 87 (1) and in Article 112 a (4) must however be filed within two months of expiry of that period.

The application must state the grounds on which is based and must set out the facts on which it relies. It is not deemed to have been filed until the fee for re-establishment of rights has been paid.

Prepared by:

European Patent Registration and Consulting Services GmbH