European Patent Bulletin
Encyclopedia
The European Patent Bulletin is a weekly trilingual
publication
of the European Patent Office
(EPO), generally issued every Wednesday. It contains "entries made in the Register of European Patents
, as well as other particulars, the publication of which is prescribed by [the European Patent Convention
(EPC)] or its implementation".
The European Patent Bulletin is published in German
, English
and French
, the three official languages of the EPO. The three texts coexist in the same issue of the bulletin. The European Patent Bulletin has been published online
since January 2004.
, the mention of the publication of the European search report in the European Patent Bulletin marks the start of the six-month
period for filing the request for examination, paying the examination fee, paying the designation fees, and paying the extension fees.
At the end of the grant procedure, the decision to grant a European patent takes legal effect only from the day when the European Patent Bulletin mentions the grant. The publication of this mention in the European Patent Bulletin marks the start of the three-month period (or more in some countries, such as Ireland
) for supplying the translation of the text in which the European patent has been granted to each national patent office, in order to have an effective protection in each country. The publication of this mention also marks the start of the nine-month period for giving notice of opposition to the patent
to the EPO.
During the opposition procedure, when the European patent is maintained in an amended form, the publication of the mention of maintenance of the European patent in the European Patent Bulletin marks the start of the three-month period (or more in some countries, such as Ireland) for supplying the translation of the text in which the European patent has been maintained to each national patent office, in order to have an effective protection in each country.
Multilingualism
Multilingualism is the act of using, or promoting the use of, multiple languages, either by an individual speaker or by a community of speakers. Multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. Multilingualism is becoming a social phenomenon governed by the needs of...
publication
Publication
To publish is to make content available to the public. While specific use of the term may vary among countries, it is usually applied to text, images, or other audio-visual content on any medium, including paper or electronic publishing forms such as websites, e-books, Compact Discs and MP3s...
of the European Patent Office
European Patent Organisation
The European Patent Organisation is a public international organisation created in 1977 by its contracting states to grant patents in Europe under the European Patent Convention of 1973...
(EPO), generally issued every Wednesday. It contains "entries made in the Register of European Patents
Register of European Patents
The European Patent Register, also known as the Register of European Patents, is a public register kept by the European Patent Office...
, as well as other particulars, the publication of which is prescribed by [the European Patent Convention
European Patent Convention
The Convention on the Grant of European Patents of 5 October 1973, commonly known as the European Patent Convention , is a multilateral treaty instituting the European Patent Organisation and providing an autonomous legal system according to which European patents are granted...
(EPC)] or its implementation".
The European Patent Bulletin is published in German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, the three official languages of the EPO. The three texts coexist in the same issue of the bulletin. The European Patent Bulletin has been published online
ONLINE
ONLINE is a magazine for information systems first published in 1977. The publisher Online, Inc. was founded the year before. In May 2002, Information Today, Inc. acquired the assets of Online Inc....
since January 2004.
Legal effect of mentions in the European Patent Bulletin
In the European patent grant procedureGrant procedure before the European Patent Office
The grant procedure before the European Patent Office is an ex parte, administrative procedure, which includes the filing of a European patent application, the examination of formalities, the establishment of a search report, the publication of the application, its substantive examination, and the...
, the mention of the publication of the European search report in the European Patent Bulletin marks the start of the six-month
Month
A month is a unit of time, used with calendars, which was first used and invented in Mesopotamia, as a natural period related to the motion of the Moon; month and Moon are cognates. The traditional concept arose with the cycle of moon phases; such months are synodic months and last approximately...
period for filing the request for examination, paying the examination fee, paying the designation fees, and paying the extension fees.
At the end of the grant procedure, the decision to grant a European patent takes legal effect only from the day when the European Patent Bulletin mentions the grant. The publication of this mention in the European Patent Bulletin marks the start of the three-month period (or more in some countries, such as Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
) for supplying the translation of the text in which the European patent has been granted to each national patent office, in order to have an effective protection in each country. The publication of this mention also marks the start of the nine-month period for giving notice of opposition to the patent
Opposition procedure before the European Patent Office
The opposition procedure before the European Patent Office is a post-grant, contentious, inter partes, administrative procedure intended to allow any European patent to be centrally opposed...
to the EPO.
During the opposition procedure, when the European patent is maintained in an amended form, the publication of the mention of maintenance of the European patent in the European Patent Bulletin marks the start of the three-month period (or more in some countries, such as Ireland) for supplying the translation of the text in which the European patent has been maintained to each national patent office, in order to have an effective protection in each country.
External links
- European Patent Bulletin on the EPO web site
- Recent issues
- Archives since January 3, 2007
- Archives since January 2, 2004 - select a date - on the EPO web site (through the Internet ArchiveInternet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
)
- Relevant notices in the Official JournalOfficial Journal of the European Patent OfficeThe Official Journal of the European Patent Office is a monthly trilingual publication of the European Patent Office . It contains "notices and information of a general character issued by the President of the European Patent Office, as well as any other information relevant to [the European Patent...
- Changes in the European Patent Bulletin, OJ 1983, 459 http://www.european-patent-office.org/legal/anc_reg/en/ap_i_a129_1983_459.htm#OJ_1983_459
- Amendments and additions to the European Patent Bulletin, OJ 1986, 63 http://www.european-patent-office.org/legal/anc_reg/en/ap_i_a129_1986_63.htm#AP_I_A129_1986_63
- Amendments and additions to the European Patent Bulletin, OJ 1988, 37 http://www.european-patent-office.org/legal/anc_reg/en/ap_i_a129_1988_37.htm#OJ_1988_37