The term European Patent is used to describe a patent filed at the European Patent Office (EPO) rather than being filed in one of the national patent offices like the UKIPO. The patent is prosecuted at the EPO, and is granted – or not – by their examiners, who are drawn from all of the countries of the European Patent Convention.

In a way, however, the idea of a “European Patent” is a bit of a misnomer, as ultimately a patent granted by the EPO only becomes effective when it is validated by the national patent offices. Because the patent has already been granted, this is an administrative process.

This contrasts with the system for pan-European trade marks, the Community Trade Mark system, where a trade mark does become effective across the whole of the European Union , or the corresponding system for Registered Community Designs.

The advantage of using the European patent filing system is that it is more cost effective than filing patents separately in each of the EPC’s member nations. As a general rule, it is thought that if an applicant wants patent protection in more than two or three jurisdictions then the European system will be cheaper, and it brings the added benefit that the option to maintain protection in more jurisdictions is kept open for longer. A UK-based European Patent Attorney ought to be able to advise on a number of strategies to achieve cost-effective and timely patent protection in Europe