Validation of European Patent
What is Validation of European Patent?
The European Patent is granted by the European Patent Office (EPO) on the basis of a patent application filed before the EPO, following an examination procedure under the European Patent Convention (EPC). The fact of granting a European patent establishes the existence of a patentable invention. The protection of this invention is possible in the territory of one, few or all member states of the EPC. A European Patent shall be valid in the territory of an EPC Member State for a period of up to 20 years from the date of filing of the European Patent application with the EPO, provided that the provisions laid down by national legislation for the validation of a European Patent are met.
The procedure that a granted European Patent must go through in order to be in force in the territory of the different Member States of the European Patent Convention is called “Validation of European Patent”.
The different laws of the EPC member states have different requirements regarding the validity of a European Patent. They mainly differ in terms of whether a translation into the national language is required. If so – which parts of the patent must be translated in the national language and with regard to the requirement to present a power of attorney.
Validation of European Patent in different countries
The EPC member states are 38: Austria, Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Great Britain, Germany, Greece, Denmark, Estonia, Ireland, Iceland, Spain, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Monaco, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Serbia, Turkey, Hungary, Finland, France, the Netherlands, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, and Sweden.
The countries that need an additional request for extension are 2: Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro.
There are 4 non-EPC countries: Cambodia, Morocco, Moldova, and Tunisia (See more about European Patent)
VALIDATION OF EUROPEAN PATENT
What are the provisions for validation in Bulgaria?
For validation of a European Patent in Bulgaria, it is necessary to file a translation into Bulgarian language with the Patent Office. The description, claims and drawings (if any) are subject to translation. Along with the translation, the prescribed fees must be paid. The translation is filed together with: data about the patent holder; the number of the European Patent application; the publication number of the European Patent; the number and date of the European Patent Bulletin in which
the mention of the patent grant is published. In most cases, the holders of European Patents that intend to validate in Bulgaria do not have a permanent address or registered business in the country. In such a case, they are obliged to perform actions before the Patent Office through a registered Industrial Property Representative. The procedure to be followed for validation of European Patent in Bulgaria is accompanied by specific requirements.
Requirements of the Bulgarian Patent Office
1. Holders of European Patents must file a translation into Bulgarian language with the Bulgarian Patent Office within 3 months. The term shall start from the date of publication of the mention for grant the European Patent (B1). The translation should be submitted on paper or in electronic (PDF) format, meeting certain technical requirements;
2. The publication fee must be paid by the end of the term for validation;
3. Fees for maintaining the validity of the patent shall be paid to the Patent
Office of the Republic of Bulgaria for each patent year following the year in which the European Patent Office has published the mention for grant the European Patent;
4. Patent holders who do not have a permanent address or registered office on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria shall be obliged to perform the actions before the Patent Office through a local Industrial Property Representative.
OUR EXPERIENCE
BV & Ko provides a translation of the description, claims and drawings (if any) of the granted European patent. The quality of the performed translations is guaranteed by highly qualified translators – specialists in various fields of technology. Through our representation before the Bulgarian Patent Office you ensure:
∴ Submission of a request for the validity of a European patent before the Bulgarian Patent Office;
∴ Payment of the fees due for the validation;
∴ Monitoring and compliance with statutory deadlines and requirements for validation of a European patent in Bulgaria.
