patents in Europe

The European Patent Office acts the central patent-granting institution for many European countries and is entitled to grant patents for all countries that have ratified the European Patent Convention. This currently includes more than 32 countries. After it has been granted, a European patent granted on the basis of a European patent application is split into separate national patents which each cover one of the countries named in the patent. The European patent is granted centrally, but if you wish to tackle an infringer in a particular country, you need to do that through the legal system in that country. For more information about European patents and the procedure for acquiring them, see also www.epo.org.

Many Dutch patent attorneys are also qualified to act at the European Patent Office (EPO). In addition to being a Dutch Patent Attorney, they are also a European Patent Attorney. This means that they are even better qualified to provide their clients with appropriate advice in what is, after all, an ever-expanding internal market. European patent attorneys are subject to the rules of the European Patent Institute (www.epi.nl). European patent attorneys are listed on the website of the European Patent Office (European Patent Attorney database).