European Patent Convention

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Preamble


PART I - GENERAL AND INSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS
 

CHAPTER I - GENERAL PROVISIONS

 

Article 1 - European law for the grant of patents

 

Article 2 - European patent

 

Article 3 - Territorial effect

 

Article 4 - European Patent Organisation

 

Article 4a - Conference of ministers of the Contracting States

 

 

CHAPTER II - THE EUROPEAN PATENT ORGANISATION

 

Article 5 - Legal status

 

Article 6 - Headquarters

 

Article 7 - Sub-offices of the European Patent Office

 

Article 8 - Privileges and immunities

 

Article 9 - Liability

 

 

CHAPTER III - THE EUROPEAN PATENT OFFICE

 

Article 10 - Management

 

Article 11 - Appointment of senior employees

 

Article 12 - Duties of office

 

Article 13 - Disputes between the Organisation and the employees of the European Patent Office

 

Article 14 - Languages of the European Patent Office, European patent applications and other documents

 

Article 15 - Departments entrusted with the procedure

 

Article 16 - Receiving Section

 

Article 17 - Search Divisions

 

Article 18 - Examining Divisions

 

Article 19 - Opposition Divisions

 

Article 20 - Legal Division

 

Article 21 - Boards of Appeal

 

Article 22 - Enlarged Board of Appeal

 

Article 23 - Independence of the members of the Boards

 

Article 24 - Exclusion and objection

 

Article 25 - Technical opinion

 

 

CHAPTER IV- THE ADMINISTRATIVE COUNCIL

 

Article 26 - Membership

 

Article 27 - Chairmanship

 

Article 28 - Board

 

Article 29 - Meetings

 

Article 30 - Attendance of observers

 

Article 31 - Languages of the Administrative Council

 

Article 32 - Staff, premises and equipment

 

Article 33 - Competence of the Administrative Council in certain cases

 

Article 34 - Voting rights

 

Article 35 - Voting rules

 

Article 36 - Weighting of votes

 

 

CHAPTER V - FINANCIAL PROVISIONS

 

Article 37 - Budgetary funding

 

Article 38 - The Organisation's own resources

 

Article 39 - Payments by the Contracting States in respect of renewal fees for European patents

 

Article 40 - Level of fees and payments - Special financial contributions

 

Article 41 - Advances

 

Article 42 - Budget

 

Article 43 - Authorisation for expenditure

 

Article 44 - Appropriations for unforeseeable expenditure

 

Article 45 - Appropriations for unforeseeable expenditure

 

Article 46 - Preparation and adoption of the budget

 

Article 47 - Provisional budget

 

Article 48 - Budget implementation

 

Article 49 - Auditing of accounts

 

Article 50 - Financial Regulations

 

Article 51 - Fees  

 


PART II - SUBSTANTIVE PATENT LAW


CHAPTER I - PATENTABILITY

 

Article 52 - Patentable inventions

 

Article 53 - Exceptions to patentability

 

Article 54 - Novelty

 

Article 55 - Non-prejudicial disclosures

 

Article 56 - Inventive step

 

Article 57 - Industrial application

 

 

CHAPTER II - PERSONS ENTITLED TO APPLY FOR AND OBTAIN A EUROPEAN PATENT MENTION OF THE INVENTOR

 

Article 58 - Entitlement to file a European patent application

 

Article 59 - Multiple applicants

 

Article 60 - Right to a European patent

 

Article 61 - European patent applications filed by non-entitled persons

 

Article 62 - Right of the inventor to be mentioned

 

 

CHAPTER III - EFFECTS OF THE EUROPEAN PATENT AND THE EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION

 

Article 63 - Term of the European patent

 

Article 64 - Rights conferred by a European patent 

 

Article 65 - Translation of the European patent

 

Article 66 - Equivalence of European filing with national filing

 

Article 67 - Rights conferred by a European patent application after publication

 

Article 68 - Effect of revocation or limitation of the European patent

 

Article 69 - Extent of protection

 

Article 70 - Authentic text of a European patent application or European patent

 

 

CHAPTER IV - THE EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION AS AN OBJECT OF PROPERTY

 

Article 71 - Transfer and constitution of rights

 

Article 72 - Assignment

 

Article 73 - Contractual licensing

 

Article 74 - Law applicable

 

 

PART III - THE EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION

CHAPTER I - FILING AND REQUIREMENTS OF THE EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION

 

Article 75 - Filing of a European patent application

 

Article 76 - European divisional applications

 

Article 77 - Forwarding of European patent applications

 

Article 78 - Requirements of a European patent application

 

Article 79 - Designation of Contracting States

 

Article 80 - Date of filing

 

Article 81 - Designation of the inventor

 

Article 82 - Unity of invention

 

Article 83 - Disclosure of the invention

 

Article 84 - Claims

 

Article 85 - Abstract

 

Article 86 - Renewal fees for the European patent application

 

 

CHAPTER II - PRIORITY

 

Article 87 - Priority right

 

Article 88 - Claiming priority

 

Article 89 - Effect of priority right

 

 

PART IV - PROCEDURE UP TO GRANT

 

Article 90 - Examination on filing and examination as to formal requirements

 

Article 91 - deleted

 

Article 92 - Drawing up of the European search report

 

Article 93 - Publication of the European patent application

 

Article 94 - Examination of the European patent application

 

Article 95 - deleted

 

Article 96 - deleted

 

Article 97 - Grant or refusal

 

Article 98 - Publication of the specification of the European patent

 


PART V - OPPOSITION AND LIMITATION PROCEDURE

 

Article 99 - Opposition

 

Article 100 - Grounds for opposition

 

Article 101 - Examination of the opposition – Revocation or maintenance of the European patent

 

Article 102 -  deleted

 

Article 103 - Publication of a new specification of the European patent

 

Article 104 - Costs

 

Article 105 - Intervention of the assumed infringer

 

Article 105a - Request for limitation or revocation

 

Article 105b - Limitation or revocation of the European patent

 

Article 105c - Publication of the amended specification of the European patent 

 

 

PART VI - APPEALS PROCEDURE

 

Article 106 - Publication of the amended specification of the European patent

 

Article 107 - Publication of the amended specification of the European patent

 

Article 108 - Time limit and form

 

Article 109 - Interlocutory revision

 

Article 110 - Examination of appeals

 

Article 111 - Decision in respect of appeals

 

Article 112 - Decision or opinion of the Enlarged Board of Appeal

 

Article 112a - Petition for review by the Enlarged Board of Appeal

 

 

PART VII - COMMON PROVISIONS


CHAPTER I - COMMMON PROVISIONS GOVERNING PROCEDURE

 

Article 113 - Right to be heard and basis of decisions

 

Article 114 - Examination by the European Patent Office of its own motion

 

Article 115 - Observations by third parties

 

Article 116 - Oral proceedings

 

Article 117 - Means and taking of evidence

 

Article 118 - Unity of the European patent application or European patent

 

Article 119 - Notification

 

Article 120 - Time limits

 

Article 121 - Further processing of the European patent application

 

Article 122 - Re-establishment of rights

 

Article 123 - Amendments

 

Article 124 - Information on prior art

 

Article 125 - Reference to general principles

 

Article 126 - deleted

 

CHAPTER II - INFORMATION TO THE PUBLIC OR OFFICIAL AUTHORITIES

 

Article 127 - European Patent Register

 

Article 128 - Inspection of files

 

Article 129 - Periodical publications

 

Article 130 - Exchange of information

 

Article 131 - Administrative and legal co-operation

 

Article 132 - Exchange of publications

 

 

CHAPTER III - REPRESENTATION

 

Article 133 - General principles of representation

 

Article 134 - Representation before the European Patent Office

 

Article 134a - Institute of Professional Representatives before the European Patent Office

 

 

PART VIII - IMPACT ON NATIONAL LAW


CHAPTER I - CONVERSION INTO A NATIONAL PATENT APPLICATION

 

Article 135 - Request for conversion

 

Article 136 - deleted

 

Article 137 - Formal requirements for conversion

 

 

CHAPTER II - REVOCATION AND PRIOR RIGHTS

 

Article 138 - Revocation of European patents

 

Article 139 - Prior rights and rights arising on the same date

 

 

CHAPTER III - MISCELLANEOUS EFFECTS

 

Article 140 - National utility models and utility certificates

 

Article 141 - Renewal fees for a European patent

 

PART IX - SPECIAL AGREEMENTS

 

Article 142 - Unitary patents

 

Article 143 - Special departments of the European Patent Office

 

Article 144 - Representation before special departments

 

Article 145 - Select committee of the Administrative Council

 

Article 146 - Cover for expenditure for carrying out special tasks

 

Article 147 - Payments in respect of renewal fees for unitary patents

 

Article 148 - The European patent application as an object of property

 

Article 149 - Joint designation

 

Article 149a - Other agreements between the Contracting States

 

 

PART X - INTERNATIONAL APPLICATIONS UNDER THE PATENT COOPERATION TREATY – EURO-PCT APPLICATIONS

 

Article 150 - Application of the Patent Cooperation Treaty

 

Article 151 - The European Patent Office as a receiving Office

 

Article 152 - The European Patent Office as an International Searching Authority or International Preliminary Examining Authority

 

Article 153 - The European Patent Office as designated Office or elected Office

 

Article 154 - deleted

 

Article 155 - deleted

 

Article 156 - deleted

 

Article 157 - deleted

 

Article 158 - deleted

 

 

PART XI - TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS

 

Article 159 - deleted

 

Article 160 - deleted


Article 161 - deleted


Article 162 - deleted


Article 163 - deleted

 

PART XII - FINAL PROVISIONS

 

Article 164 - Implementing Regulations and Protocols

 

Article 165 - Signature - Ratification 

 

Article 166 - Accession 

 

Article 167 - deleted

 

Article 168 - Territorial field of application

 

Article 169 - Entry into force

 

Article 170 - Initial contribution

 

Article 171 - Duration of the Convention

 

Article 172 - Revision


Article 173 - Disputes between Contracting States

 

Article 174 - Denunciation

 

Article 175 - Preservation of acquired rights

 

Article 176 - Financial rights and obligations of former Contracting States

 

Article 177 - Languages of the Convention

 

Article 178 - Transmission and notifications

 

 

Protocol on the Interpretation of Article 69 EPC

 

Protocol on Recogntion (EPC)

 

Protocol on Privileges and Immunities (EPC)

 

Protocol on Centralisation (EPC)

 

Protocol on Staff Complement (EPC)

 

Disclaimer

Text in force at 01-01-2020. The text can be verified at overheid.nl. Titles of articles have been added for convenience, but are lacking in the official text, IP-PorTal.