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Single European Patent Will Cover 11 Countries

Many inventors have asked about obtaining patent protection in Europe, and I have had to explain to them that, presently, there is no such thing as a true ‘European Patent’ but that it is possible to file a single application in the European Patent Office (EPO) and obtain protection in selected member states.  The downside is that once the patent is issued by the EPO, the patent has to be translated into each language used in the member countries and that the patent would have to be defended in in each of the selected countries.  In essence, although the EPO centralizes the examination process, once an EPO patent issues, it is treated separately in each member country.

Now for some breaking news.  As reported in the EU Observer, A bloc of 11 European countries — including France, Germany, and the UK — have agreed to go ahead with a plan for issuing a single patent covering these eleven jurisdictions, a ‘mini EU patent’, if you will.

This is good news and should result in considerably reduced cost for applicants.