Thus, the application of an EPC-patent is cost effective while covering all the member states of the European Community as well as other european countries (for instance Switzerland). The more countries the applicant designates, the more cost effective the prosecution becomes. When designating more than 7 countries, the exceeding countries are free of fees for the prosecution before the EPO.

The patent application is examined and granted by the European Patent Office (EPO) in Munich. After grant of the patent, the patent has to be validated in the designated countries, i.e. by filing a translation in the language of the member state with the national patent office.

Approximately 10 to 18 months after filing, the applicant receives an opinion of the EPO with respect to the patentability of the invention. Granting of the patent filed by DTS takes in average one to three years.

The costs for filing an EPC-application with claiming a priority, designating all countries and paying the search and examination fees are in average appr. 3.500 EUR inclusive official fees and DTS fees. This applies in the case that a full description, claims and figures are provided (for instance when entering the regional phase of a PCT-application after 31 months).

DTS-attorneys teach on the subject of the European patent at the EPO as tutors of CEIPI for the training of future European patent attorneys.

Please do not hesitate to contact us in order to ask for more individual information:

patent@dts-law.com

T: +49-(0)89-219996-0.

This first information is free of charge.