The European Patent System: an introduction for patent searchers

The ways in which patent protection can be obtained and enforced in Europe are reviewed, with particular reference to those aspects of most relevance to patent searchers. Whilst this paper has been written primarily from the perspective of those who are normally working within the US patent system, it provides a valuable perspective for all concerned with the retrieval of patent information. It covers those aspects of most immediate concern to patent searchers and analysts, such as novelty and inventive step considerations, publication and grant timescales, types of claim (e.g. in relation to infringement searches), and oppositions (e.g. validity searches). It also provides a wider perspective of related features of European patent law, to provide contextual information useful for patent searchers. It concentrates particularly on the EPO route to patents in Europe, but also encompasses the alternatives of an initial PCT application or applying entirely through the national routes. Finally the more major differences between European and US patent law are set out, such as first to file versus first to invent, duty of candour, and the best mode requirement.