Grant procedure before the European Patent Office

Graph of European patent applications filed and granted between 1998 and 2007. The average time from filing to grant in 2007 was 43.7 months (3.6 years).

The grant procedure before the European Patent Office (EPO) is an ex parte, administrative procedure, which includes the filing of a European patent application,[1] the examination of formalities,[2] the establishment of a search report,[3] the publication of the application,[4] its substantive examination,[5] and the grant of a patent,[6] or the refusal of the application,[7] in accordance with the legal provisions of the European Patent Convention (EPC). The grant procedure is carried out by the EPO under the supervision of the Administrative Council of the European Patent Organisation.[8] The patents granted in accordance with the EPC are called European patents.[9]

In other words, the grant procedure before the EPO is the procedure leading to the grant of a European patent[6] or to the refusal to grant a European patent.[7] The procedure starts with the filing of an application[1] and ends with the grant of a European patent[6] or the refusal of the patent application[7] by the EPO, or the withdrawal of the application by the applicant, or its deemed withdrawal.[notes 1] The prosecution of European patent applications until grant typically takes several years.[10]

  1. ^ a b Article 75 EPC
  2. ^ Article 90 EPC
  3. ^ Article 92 EPC
  4. ^ Article 93 EPC
  5. ^ Article 94 EPC
  6. ^ a b c Article 97(1) EPC
  7. ^ a b c Article 97(2) EPC
  8. ^ Article 4(3) EPC
  9. ^ Article 2(1) EPC
  10. ^ Richard Howson, Points and prizes, or how to Play Your Cards Right at the European Patent Office, Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice, 2007 2(3):170-173; doi:10.1093/jiplp/jpl237


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