The European Patent Register, also known as the Register of European Patents, is a public register kept by the

European Patent Office The European Patent Office (EPO) is one of the two organs of the European Patent Organisation (EPOrg), the other being the Administrative Council. The EPO acts as executive body for the organisation

(EPO). It contains legal information relating to published European

patent application A patent application is a request pending at a patent office for the grant of a patent for an invention described in the patent specification and a set of one or more claim (patent), claims stated in a formal document, including necessary officia ...

s and European

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an sufficiency of disclosure, enabling discl ...

s granted under the

European Patent Convention The European Patent Convention (EPC), also known as the Convention on the Grant of European Patents of 5 October 1973, is a multilateral treaty instituting the European Patent Organisation and providing an autonomous legal system according to w ...

(EPC). The register notably provides the current legal status of European patent applications and patents, such as for instance "whether a patent application has been published, whether a patent has been granted, what the outcome of

opposition proceedings An opposition proceeding is an administrative process available under the patent and trademark law of many jurisdictions which allows third parties to formally challenge the validity of a pending patent application ("pre-grant opposition"), of a gr ...

was or whether a patent has been revoked". The register does not, however, contain information regarding what happens to a European patent at the national level (especially after grant, when the European patent becomes effectively a bundle of national patents in the member states of the

European Patent Organisation The European Patent Organisation (sometimes abbreviated EPOrg in order to distinguish it from the European Patent Office, one of the two organs of the organisation) is a public international intellectual property organisation, organisation create ...

). Since October 2011 however, its records include deep links to the corresponding records of the European patents' "national parts" in about twenty national registers (as of December 2012). The

Global Dossier The Global Dossier is an online public service launched in June 2014 by the five "IP5" offices, i.e. the European Patent Office (EPO), the Japan Patent Office (JPO), the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO), China's National Intellectual Pro ...

is also available via the European Patent Register. The European Patent Office is the only body that can perform legally effective publication and registration of European patent applications and patents. It regularly issues warnings about scams by firms and individuals that invite applicants to register patents in unofficial registers or publications.EPO web site
''Warning: Beware of approaches and requests for payment from firms purporting to register European patents''
, 29 June 2006 Such registration services are a well known scam in intellectual property.

References

External links

European Patent Register
at the European Patent Office * Legal basis ** : European Patent Register ** (formerly ): Entries in the European Patent Register European Patent Organisation {{Europe-law-stub

See also

References

External links