A European Patent Application is a patent application that is potentially effective in all 38 contracting states of the European Patent Convention (EPC), including the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain, for example. When a European patent grants, it must then undergo a process called ‘Validation’, which is where the European patent must meet any additional national requirements of the EPC contracting state, such as appointing a local patent attorney and filing a translation, depending on the translation requirements of the country in which the European patent is being validated (as determined by the London Agreement).
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