European Patent

Translation of the European patent

Any Contracting State may, if the European patent as granted, amended or limited by the European Patent Office is not drawn up in one of its official languages, prescribe that the proprietor of the patent shall supply to its central industrial property office a translation of the patent as granted, amended or limited in one of its official languages at his option or, where that State has prescribed the use of one specific official language, in that language. The period for supplying the translation shall end three months after the date on which the mention of the grant, maintenance in amended form or limitation of the European patent is published in the European Patent Bulletin, unless the State concerned prescribes a longer period.

Any Contracting State which has adopted provisions may prescribe that the proprietor of the patent must pay all or part of the costs of publication of such translation within a period laid down by that State. Any Contracting State may prescribe that in the event of failure to observe the provisions adopted in accordance with above mentioned paragraph, the European patent shall be deemed to be void ab initio in that State.

The text of a European patent application or a European patent in the language of the proceedings shall be the authentic text in any proceedings before the European Patent Office and in any Contracting State. If, however, the European patent application has been filed in a language which is not an official language of the European Patent Office, that text shall be the application as filed within the meaning of Convention. Any Contracting State may provide that a translation into one of its official languages, as prescribed by it according to Convention, shall in that State be regarded as authentic, except for revocation proceedings, in the event of the European patent application or European patent in the language of the translation conferring protection which is narrower than that conferred by it in the language of the proceedings.

Any Contracting State shall allow the applicant for or proprietor of the patent to file a corrected translation of the European patent application or European patent. Any person who, in that State, in good faith has used or has made effective and serious preparations for using an invention the use of which would not constitute infringement of the application or patent in the original translation, may, after the corrected translation takes effect, continue such use in the course of his business or for the needs thereof without payment. 


Conversion

The central industrial property office of a designated Contracting State shall, at the request of the applicant for or proprietor of a European patent, apply the procedure for the grant of a national patent in the following circumstances: 

(a) where the European patent application is deemed to be withdrawn;

(b) in such other cases as are provided for by the national law, in which the European patent application is refused or withdrawn or deemed to be withdrawn, or the European patent is revoked under this Convention. 

The request for conversion shall be filed with the central industrial property office with which the European patent application has been filed. That office shall, subject to the provisions governing national security, transmit the request directly to the central industrial property offices of the Contracting States specified therein or the request for conversion shall be submitted to the European Patent Office in accordance with the Implementing Regulations. It shall not be deemed to be filed until the conversion fee has been paid. The European Patent Office shall transmit the request to the central industrial property offices of the Contracting States specified therein.

The effect of the European patent application shall lapse if the request for conversion is not submitted in due time.

A European patent application transmitted, shall not be subjected to formal requirements of national law which are different from or additional to those provided for in this Convention.

Any central industrial property office to which the European patent application is transmitted may require that the applicant shall, within a period of not less than two months: 

(a) pay the national application fee; and 

(b) file a translation of the original text of the European patent application in an official language of the State in question and, where appropriate, of the text as amended during proceedings before the European Patent Office which the applicant wishes to use as the basis for the national procedure. 

Applicant shall apply to utility models and utility certificates and to applications for utility models and utility certificates registered or deposited in the Contracting States whose laws make provision for such models or certificates.

The request for conversion, shall be filed within three months of the withdrawal of the European patent application, or of the communication that the application is deemed to be withdrawn, or of the decision refusing the application or revoking the European patent.

When transmitting the request for conversion to the central industrial property offices of the Contracting States specified in the request, the central industrial property office concerned or the European Patent Office shall attach to the request a copy of the file relating to the European patent application or European patent. 

The documents accompanying the request for conversion, shall be made available to the public by the central industrial property office under the same conditions and to the same extent as documents relating to national proceedings. The printed specification of the national patent resulting from the conversion of a European patent application shall mention that application.