Albright IP Limited

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European / Euro-PCT Patents

Albright IP have experienced, proactive European patent attorneys who can provide you with expert advice and guidance on European patents. There are two routes to patent protection in Europe. To understand more about which one might be right for you, please watch the short video below.


European Patent Application Procedure

A European patent application provides a means of obtaining patent protection in some or all of the more than 30 contracting states of the European Patent Office (EPO) by filing a single application. In other words, you can potentially protect your invention across the whole of the EU market based on a single patent application. Click here for a list of available countries and click here for a map.

Our European patent attorneys are all highly qualified with engineering and science backgrounds, and are able to write, file, prosecute and validate European Patents under the European Patent Convention (EPC).

When granted, a European patent gives protection in the designated states where the patent has been validated. In other words, a granted European patent does not automatically provide EU-wide protection, and formal action is needed to bring a European patent into force in the desired countries after grant. Most European patents are not validated in every available country, instead covering the countries which are most commercially important .

Overall, a European patent application can be an effective way of obtaining protection for an invention in a number of European States. We can also provide very cost-effective payment of European and national patent renewal fees.

What happens when I’m ready to file an application?

For European patent applications, unlike many patent attorney firms, Albright IP uses a secure and immediate online filing system. This online filing system also provides discounted official fees, and we are proud to pass on these cost-savings in full to our clients.

Please explore the following sections for further details of the European patent application procedure.

How to reduce European patent costs

When filing a European patent application, typically either claiming priority from a domestic patent application, such as a UK or USA patent application, or when converting from an International PCT patent application, there are a number of ways to reduce costs.

The European Patent Office (EPO) charges significant extra fees for each claim of your patent application in excess of 15. Therefore, in effect, the first 15 claims in a European patent application are free of charge, but the following claims from the 16th onwards do incur heavy fees. Therefore, it is in the applicant’s interest to consider slimming their claims down when filing their European patent application.

In particular, the official fee at present for each claim from 16 to 50 is currently 235 Euros, and for each claim from 51 onwards currently incurs an official fee of 580 Euros. In coming years, these fees are unlikely to reduce and if anything will probably only get higher.

It should be remembered that, for a European patent application, typically only one independent apparatus claim, one independent method claim, and one independent product claim will be allowable. Often, US patent applications in particular, will include multiple independent apparatus claims. Therefore, when filing or submitting a European patent application, it is generally prudent to consider reducing the number of independent claims in the respective categories. Again, this should help to reduce the official filing fees.

The European Patent Office also charges for each page of the specification in excess of the first 35 pages. The specification in this case includes the description, claims, abstract and drawings. Although it is often difficult to reduce the number of pages, if the margins can be reduced, the line spacing between lines of written text reduced to 1.5, and typically the font size reduced to Times New Roman 11 point, this is generally acceptable and may result in the number of pages being reduced somewhat.

Although the saving is not a great as with the reduction in the number claims, there is currently a 15 Euro official fee for every page in excess of the first 35 pages of the specification. Again, although this fee remains static for the time being, it is unlikely that it will ever go down and it is more probable that it will only ever increase. Therefore, when drafting or preparing the original patent filing, this can be taken into account.

To somewhat reduce ongoing costs during prosecution of a European patent application, some formalities can be taken care of when filing the patent application. In particular, the European Patent Office will require that each feature or element mentioned in the claims and shown in the drawings includes its respective reference numeral enclosed by brackets. By taking account of this and modifying or submitting amended claims when filing, this particular formalities objection can be avoided.

Although of not particular benefit in terms of saving costs, it should also be noted that the abstract of a European patent application should include reference numbers identifying the features of the drawings. And these reference numbers should also be in brackets.

Furthermore, European patent practice provides for the use of multiple dependent claims, therefore if filing from an originating US patent application, for example, there is no reason not to modify the claims so that the dependent claims utilize multiple dependencies if appropriate.

For more information, please contact us by calling +44 (0) 1242 691 801 to speak with one of our qualified British and European attorneys.

Filing your application

European patents are granted for inventions that are new, involve an inventive step and are susceptible of industrial application. You must therefore be certain to keep your invention confidential until a patent application is filed.

Albright IP will prepare a draft patent specification for your approval based on your disclosure to us. Once you have approved the specification, a patent application is filed. The application will include a description, claims, drawings and an abstract.

As with other patent applications, a European patent application can claim the priority benefit of a patent application filed up to 12 months earlier. In other words, a European patent application can be back dated to the filing date of an earlier patent, if filed within 12 months of the earlier patent.

We also have to provide the European Patent Office with information regarding your entitlement to the invention and the states which you would like to designate. Please note that this information can be provided after filing, and we will keep you informed of the requirements.

For more information, please contact us by calling +44 (0) 1242 691 801 to speak with one of our qualified British and European attorneys.

The European Search Report

Following filing, the European Patent Office carry out a search of published patent specifications and some other materials, if deemed relevant, and issue a Search Report usually within 4 months of the application date.

A Written Opinion is typically also provided by the European Patent Office Examiner, and this can form the basis of a first examination report in due course.

Once received, we will forward the Search Report to you. If you would like more detailed analysis as to the relevancy, then we are happy to provide this on receipt of your instructions.

For more information, please contact us by calling +44 (0) 1242 691 801 to speak with one of our qualified British and European attorneys.

Publication

After 18 months from the date of filing, or from the priority date if priority is claimed, your application is published, together with a copy of the search report (if established). Once a European patent application has been published, files relating to it are available for public inspection and bibliographic data is available to the public in the European Patent Register.

If the European Patent application is direct filed (i.e. not from a PCT), then once the Search Report publishes, we have six months to request examination and to pay the examination fee and the designation fee, designating the countries covered by the European Patent Convention (EPC).

For more information, please contact us by calling +44 (0) 1242 691 801 to speak with one of our qualified British and European attorneys.

Examination

Examination must be requested and the official fees paid within 6 months of publication of the search report. Payment of a single designation fee allows you to designate all European patent member states.

A first Examination report can take one or more years to issue. Once received, we are typically allowed four months to respond. We are happy to provide as much analysis and guidance as required, or to discuss matters with a meeting at our offices if necessary.

We enter into a written dialogue with the European Patent Office and try to resolve any objections to the application made in the Examination Report. Failure to resolve objections may result in the application being refused.

For more information, please contact us by calling +44 (0) 1242 691 801 to speak with one of our qualified British and European attorneys.

Grant

Once the European Patent Office is satisfied that any objections raised have been overcome, we are informed that a European Patent will be granted. We are then required to file translations of the claims into French and German, and to pay the grant and printing fees within a short time limit. The application is granted and published once these requirements have been met, or refused if these requirements are not met.

Albright IP will handle the translations for you. It is important that good quality and accurate translations into French and German are obtained.

For more information, please contact us by calling +44 (0) 1242 691 801 to speak with one of our qualified British and European attorneys.

Validation

Following grant, there is a short period to ‘validate’ your European patent in the desired European Patent member states, which includes the majority of the EU (European Union).

Validation brings the granted European patent into force in that member state.

A translation of the claims or a translation of the whole European patent into the national language of the member state may be required, as stipulated by the London Agreement. We have contacts with cost-effective associates in all of the EPO member states, allowing us to keep the translation costs (if required) down during the validation process following grant of your European patent.

For more information, please contact us by calling +44 (0) 1242 691 801 to speak with one of our qualified British and European attorneys.

Opposition

For up to 9 months from the date of grant, the granted European patent may be opposed at the European Patent Office by any third party.

It is possible to defend against opposition, and we can advise you on a case by case basis.

For more information, please contact us by calling +44 (0) 1242 691 801 to speak with one of our qualified British and European attorneys.

Renewal Fees

Renewal fees are payable annually from the end of the second year after filing of your European patent application to keep the application pending.

If the European patent application has been filed via the PCT route, then the PCT application counts as the European filing. As such, if the PCT application is more than two years old at the time of European regional phase entry, the first renewal fee will be payable.

Once the European patent application is granted, renewal fees then become payable in each of the states where the patent has been validated.

Albright IP can cost-effectively pay any renewal fee to the European Patent Office or in any European Patent member state. We can also undertake payment of renewal fees in most countries around the world. Please contact us for further details.

For more information, please contact us by calling +44 (0) 1242 691 801 to speak with one of our qualified British and European attorneys.

Patent Law - Legal Texts

The European Patent Convention (EPC) and Implementing Regulations (click here)

 

Through our qualified and experienced European patent attorneys, Albright IP can fully and proactively protect your invention, giving you the patent rights to then secure your market or to obtain lucrative licence and assignment deals.

How do I know whether someone has already made my invention?

Prior to filing a new patent application, Albright IP recommends that you make prior art searches to ascertain as far as you can the state of the art. This will help us to target the novel and inventive features of your invention. The European Patent Office (EPO) operates a basic free searchable patents database, called Espacenet. If desired, we are also able to obtain or make pre-application searches for you.

Please contact one of our European patent attorneys using the enquiry form on the left for further no-obligation free advice. Alternatively, call us on +44 (0) 1242 691 801 to speak to a qualified European patent attorney.

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What Our Customers Say...

Albright IP Limited
Albright IP Limited
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David Chalk
David Chalk
21:43 02 Jun 20
Great service, attention to detail and truly actionable advice. I've no hesitation in recommending Albright IP and Adrian in particular. Many thanks.read more
George Tatham-Losh
George Tatham-Losh
13:29 05 Feb 20
Fantastic service as always, detailed, informative and all the hard work was done with minimal input from myself. I have been working with Katie and her fantastic team for years and would highly recommend.read more
Christopher James
Christopher James
16:59 20 Jan 20
Choosing Albright IP was one of the best decisions I have made. Adrian and Cloe have both helped me tremendously so far, they are very professional, friendly, prompt and always there to help and answer any questions. Katie Oliver has also been wonderful assisting with the trademark. Thank you all and looking forward to continue to work with you.read more
Richard Hearn
Richard Hearn
16:05 22 Nov 19
Excellent professional advise and extremely honest and upfront people. Many thanks Adrian and your team!
Brian Gibbs
Brian Gibbs
07:32 23 Aug 19
I have absolutely no hesitation in recommending Albright IP Ltd having received superb service and support throughout. Every query I raised was dealt with professionally and very quickly by Will who provided fully detailed and regular updates as well being approachable and friendly at all times. I have full confidence in Albright IP!read more
Warren Philbey
Warren Philbey
10:54 18 Jul 19
From the first call I had a great feeling, polite, friendly, informative and professional. From then it just got better and after a great deal of help and support in understanding our needs we contracted with Albright and they did a fantastic service, exceeding any expectations and proving themselves to be a truly wonderful company to work with. 10 stars! A big thank you to Adrian and his team.read more
Terence Hodgson
Terence Hodgson
23:06 12 Jun 19
I have not had reason to contact Albright for several years since the granting of my Patent but quite recently I did get in touch. It was as I remembered, friendly, professional, honest and informative. It appears that Adrian and the Albright team are there for me no matter the length of time. T Hodgson. UMU HSA Ltdread more
Paul Sims
Paul Sims
12:40 12 Apr 19
Adrian and The Albright Team are Professional and Helpful. It has is a real gem to found such great people to act as part of my extended legal team regards Patents. I am pleased to recommend and have them represent my Registered Patents. Thank you. www.thebluebearpartnership.comread more
Nick Ball
Nick Ball
19:16 12 Mar 19
High quality service at a reasonable price. With Albright you feel you're in very good hands. Marc was always courteous, responsive, well informed and generous with his time. I would have no hesitation recommending Albright or working with them again.read more
Andrew Stewart
Andrew Stewart
16:27 26 Feb 19
Great depth of expertise, advice and counsel. Not only expert advisors, Albright IP provide valuable, balanced and cogent advice on complex (and simple) matters of patent and trademark law. Delivered with great clarity, always available and keen to provide balanced perspectives in support of good outcomes. Great partners, highly recommend.read more
Simon Bradbeer
Simon Bradbeer
11:37 05 Feb 19
After leaving a well known London based attorney Albright IP were recommended to me by a colleague within the group. Since then Adrian and his team have consistently given me superb advice and support whatever the project. With their help the company has been granted a number of robust patents, registered designs and trademarks.read more
Scott Johnson
Scott Johnson
14:59 11 Jan 19
I have known Adrian Hocking for over 10 years. The service he and his colleagues offer is professional, transparent and friendly. If you have an idea that is either completely new or you think is a step-change from what is currently available, I recommend that you contact Albright IP.read more
Hannah Azar
Hannah Azar
11:10 24 Dec 18
Adrian is an exceptionally talented and experienced patent attorney. I was very impressed by the quality of work produced by the team at Albright. A fast, helpful and friendly service.read more
Oliver Pearce
Oliver Pearce
19:11 01 Dec 18
Fantastic one to one service. Knowledgeable. Friendly. Competent. And very rapid response to queries. Very impressed!read more
Simon Folmann
Simon Folmann
21:32 26 Nov 18
Adrian Hocking and Albright IP have offered us excellent service, and expertise over the last 12 months. They explain in detail the processes, implications, and opportunities with obtaining and securing Intellectual Property and for a Product Development company such as ours, it is crucial that the terminology and quality of work be above industry standard. I can with high confidence say, that the delivered work so far from Albright IP and their team, is unparalleled to prior partners we have had in IP; and I am sure it will continue to do so in our future endeavours together.read more
Martin Boyd
Martin Boyd
15:17 03 Nov 18
Excellent technical and legal knowledge. Amazing friendly customer service catered to individual customer needs. Highly recommended.read more
Mike N
Mike N
16:14 08 Oct 18
Albright-IP - We can highly recommend Albright-IP, after contacting several patent companies prior to application - we were after a patent company to offer realistic and practical advice, be able to process our claim from start to finish, After speaking with Mr Doherty on the telephone we decided Albright -IP would be able to offer the skills and knowledge required for our application and asked them to represent us. Albright-IP were on hand to explain the complexities of the process and how our claim may or may not be defended in the real world, Mr Will Doherty is our patent attorney, he was professional and attentive, his knowledge and customer service is very good. We are confident our patent application is in good hands and we are pleased to have Alrbight IP there to assist us with our application, without their input we may well have been wasting our time due to our lack of knowledge in this complex matter.read more
Jeffrey Chua
Jeffrey Chua
08:47 14 Sep 18
We worked with Albright IP Limited on patent applications in EU and UK, specifically through Cloe Loo. Cloe and her team have done a fantastic job. We were glad to have assistance from Albright on our patent application journey. I am impressed by the team's professionalism and we will be engaging Albright to be our long-term legal adviser in patent applications.read more
Graham Kelly
Graham Kelly
17:49 07 Sep 18
I have a granted patent! thanks to Will and the team at Albright. ? Friendly and helpful service, it's great how they can very quickly grasp the required understanding of your idea and put pen to paper and draft a patent. Will was great at pointing out what are valid aspects of my idea and taking me through the process of what that means in patent language! A few more steps to go to hopefully gain the overseas coverage. ?read more
Geraint Morgan
Geraint Morgan
09:44 21 Aug 18
Albright IP provided an excellent, efficient, affordable high quality service that made the whole patent filing experience an enjoyable one - contrary to previous experiences. We are certainly more likely to consider patenting our innovations in the future based on our recent experience and would highly recommend Albright IP to others.......read more
Don Spence
Don Spence
12:07 09 Aug 18
Filing patents can be a steep learning curve but Adrian does an excellent job explaining the process. Adrian and his associates are easy to contact and they will always answer your questions. Money and cost are important and the Albright team do their best to make sure your $$ is spent in a wise fashion. After working with Albright for 6 years, I am happy with their work and I have no reason to change companies. My many thanks for professional service.read more
Graeme Allison
Graeme Allison
22:54 31 Jul 18
Adrian and his team provided and excellent service, their technical understanding is fantastic and patent advice has been impeccable, I’d highly recommend Albright IP should you be looking for patent expertise.read more
Mark Hendriksen
Mark Hendriksen
16:12 17 Jul 18
Exceptional. Guided me through the process in clear understandable steps. Hoping we have a long and successful future ahead with the patents they've so expertly managed for me so far.read more
jing cheng
jing cheng
13:12 19 Jun 18
I contacted Adrain for advise in a short time frame. He is very professional and clear about price policy. He has very good understanding of online business and IP law. He is very quick responding and speakes the language I understand. Highly recommended.read more
Lorenzo Rimoldi
Lorenzo Rimoldi
12:44 07 Jun 18
Adrian was very helpful, upfront and clear on processes, costs and timeline. He's very professional and proactive in his involvement and support. I would definitely recommend Albright IP.read more
Mohammed Deria
Mohammed Deria
04:06 01 Jun 18
Adrian is a true professional at the top of his field! Due to his background in engineering, Adrian effortlessly understand the needs of his client even when it is highly technical in nature. An attentive ear and huge generosity with his time, Adrian's support to us as a client has been extremely valuable. I would highly recommend Adrian and the team at Albright IP for protecting your IP.read more
Guy Procter
Guy Procter
17:36 21 May 18
What can I say, excellent help so far! Very clear and helpful service, explained in terms you can understand covered everything I thought I needed and then some more to give me all the options available. More than willing to recommend Albright IP.read more
Kirishan Siva
Kirishan Siva
09:14 17 Dec 17
The Albright team were extremely helpful and knowledgeable in the whole patent process for our product and went through each process in registering patent to help us understand this fully. Highly recommend Adrian and team for their knowledge, efficiency and professional service!read more
Jade Baron
Jade Baron
16:05 25 Nov 17
Adrian Hocking at Albright handled my recent patent application. I've been very happy with his service. He was very responsive to my questions and explained everything thoroughly. He was very supportive of my idea and consistently positive, which was also helpful. Albright has relationships with various other businesses that help inventors, so it's kind of a like a one-stop-shop. Highly recommend.read more
Meopham Fencing
Meopham Fencing
15:27 08 Nov 17
Great advice and customer service at a reasonable price. They have enabled us to finalise our case satisfactorily. Would happily recommend them and use them again.read more
James Garritt
James Garritt
09:17 17 Oct 17
Adrian and his team have been fantastic in all works asked to do. They have ensured my idea has been protected in every way. They have helped with the design process also and I could not wish for a better team. You may be paying a little more than you feel is expected....but you get what you pay for and you probably save money in the long run. Highly recommended.... use without worry.read more
Tony Laycock
Tony Laycock
16:06 02 Oct 17
I have found that the company has given me excellent service in getting my patent through the process. Every time I have had a phone conversation I have felt I was given plenty of time to discuss what was happening. Along with sound advice I have been able to make great progress. In my opinion it is one of the best companies I have ever dealt with and would be happy to recommend them.read more
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Albright IP
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