domenica 30 marzo 2008

European Patent Office - new schedule of fees applicable starting 1st April 2008

In a decision in December 2007, the Administrative Council of the European Patent Organisation adopted an amended version of the schedule of fees to be paid to the Office for the filing, examination, search, renewal etc. of European patents.
The new schedule of fees will enter into force on 1st April 2008. The new amounts of the fees shall be binding for payments made on or after that date.
European patents can be granted for the 34 contracting states (as at January 2008) to the European Patent Convention (EPC) and, at the applicant's request, can be extended to Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and Serbia.
A European patent application consists of a request for the grant of a European patent a description of the invention, one or more claims, any drawings referred to in the description or claims, and an abstract.
The request for grant of a European patent must be filed on the form prescribed by the European Patent Office.
The minimum requirements to establish a filing date of a European patent application are: an indication that a European patent is sought, information identifying the applicant or allowing the applicant to be contacted, and a description of the invention or a reference to a previously filed application. The applicant will then need to complete the application documents as listed above.

Nessun commento: