EUROPEAN PATENT CONVENTION (EPC)
A centralized European Patent Office (EPO) was established in 1978. Since then it has been possible to file a single application leading to the grant of a European patent, which can be validated in practically all European countries. A European Patent Application can now be filed, designating any one or more of the following thirty one countries, namely:
| Austria Belgium Bulgaria Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany |
Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Monaco Netherlands |
Poland Portugal Romania Slovenia Slovakia Spain Sweden Switzerland/ Liechtenstein Turkey United Kingdom |
A European Patent Application can also extend to Albania, Bosnia/Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia and Serbia.
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