The revised
European Patent Convention, EPC 2000, adopting developments in international patent treaties (
TRIPS,
PLT,
PCT) introduces a number of changes to present practice as well as some new possibilities, of which the most prominent are:
Relaxed filing date requirements
To obtain a filing date for a European patent application you may file a description in any language and without claims, or a detailed reference to a previously filed application. A translation of the description into an official language (English, German or French), claims must be filed within two months from an invitation to correct deficiencies, or a certified copy of the reference application must be filed within two months from the EP filing date. However, according to notorious Art. 123(2) EPC, the subject matter of the application may not extent beyond the content of the application as filed. Therefore, present practice should be continued and the relaxed filing requirements should be relied on only in case of need.
Better options for restoration
Further processing of a European patent application is now available for more time limits vis-à-vis the European Patent Office. Re-establishment of rights is now also available for claiming priority within two months of expiry of the priority year. Further processing requires completing the omitted act and paying a fee within a given deadline. In addition, re-establishment of rights requires that all due care can be shown under the circumstances leading to the loss of rights.
Central limitation and revocation
In addition to the central opposition procedure, a central limitation and revocation procedure of granted European patents is available upon request of the proprietor. The procedure is intended to be quick. The limitation procedure leads to limited claims for all validated Contracting States. Although limited claims need to go through a new validation (previous translations can be re-used), the procedure is less costly than numerous national procedures.
