IP Law News

EUROPEAN PATENT – ENTITLEMENT TO FILE A EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION

Submitted by European Patent... on Thu, 2026-07-09 17:36

According to Article 58 of the European Patent Convention (EPC),

A European patent application may be filed by any natural or legal person, or any body equivalent to a legal person by virtue of the law governing it.

According to Article 59 of the European Patent Convention (EPC),

A European patent application may also be filed either by joint applicants or by two or more applicants designating different EPC Contracting States.

EUROPEAN PATENT – INDUSTRIAL APPLICATION

Submitted by European Patent... on Mon, 2026-07-06 18:41

 

According to Article 57 of the European Patent Convention (EPC) and regulations in the EPC Implementing regulations,

An invention shall be considered as susceptible of industrial application if it can be made or used in any kind of industry, including agriculture.

The description of the invention shall indicate explicitly, when it is not obvious from the description or nature of the invention, the way in which the invention is industrially applicable. 

EUROPEAN PATENT – INVENTIVE STEP

Submitted by European Patent... on Fri, 2026-07-03 17:02

According to Article 56 of the European Patent Convention (EPC),

An invention shall be considered as involving an inventive step if, having regard to the state of the art, it is not obvious to a person skilled in the art. If the state of the art also includes documents within the meaning of Article 54, paragraph 3 of EPC (regulating Novelty) these documents shall not be considered in deciding whether there has been an inventive step.

EUROPEAN PATENT – NOVELTY

Submitted by European Patent... on Mon, 2026-06-29 16:28

According to Article 54 of the European Patent Convention (EPC),


(1) An invention shall be considered to be new if it does not form part of the state of the art.

EUROPEAN PATENT – EXCEPTIONS TO PATENTABILITY

Submitted by European Patent... on Thu, 2026-06-25 16:51

According to Article 53 of the European Patent Convention (EPC), European patents shall not be granted in respect of:

(a) inventions the commercial exploitation of which would be contrary to "ordre public" or morality; such exploitation shall not be deemed to be so contrary merely because it is prohibited by law or regulation in some or all of the Contracting States;  

EUROPEAN PATENT – PATENTABLE INVENTIONS

Submitted by European Patent... on Wed, 2026-06-24 18:16

According to Article 52 of the European Patent Convention (EPC)

(1) European patents shall be granted for any inventions, in all fields of technology, provided that they are new, involve an inventive step and are susceptible of industrial application. 

(2) The following in particular shall not be regarded as inventions within the meaning of paragraph 1

EUROPEAN PATENT – OFFICIAL FEES ASSOCIATED WITH FILING EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION VALID FROM 1.4.2026

Submitted by European Patent... on Sun, 2026-04-12 13:08

The European Patent Office (EPO) has amended its Schedule of official fees. According to it, he following EPO Official fees apply related to filing European patent application starting from April 1st, 2026:

EUROPEAN PATENT – HOW CAN BE REQUESTED LANGUAGE RELATED FEE REDUCTIONS

Submitted by European Patent... on Fri, 2026-02-27 12:28

According to EPO Regulations, the language-related fee reductions are available only to:
small entities ( (a) a micro, small or medium-sized enterprise (b) a natural person; or
(c) a non-profit organisation, university or public research organisation)
having their residence or principal place of business within a contracting state which has a language other than English, French or German as an official language, and
nationals of such a state who are resident abroad.

European patent - Fee reductions for small and micro-entities

Submitted by European Patent... on Fri, 2026-02-06 16:22

As part of its fee policy reform the EPO introduced a new support scheme for micro-entities in April 2024, targeting users who are smaller and/or less familiar with the patent system.

TRANSFER OF EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION

Submitted by European Patent... on Thu, 2025-12-11 13:04

According to the regulations of the European Patent Convention (EPC) a European patent application may be transferred for one or more of the designated EPC contracting states.

An assignment of a European patent application is to be made in writing and requires the signature of the parties to the contract on the patent application transfer.

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