European patent application
A European patent application suits applicants who expect their inventions to be used in two or more member states of the European Patent Organisation and want to protect them there by patent or otherwise. It is filed with the IPO SR or with the European Patent Office. As of 1 October 2010, the European Patent Organisation had 38 member states: the Slovak Republic, the Czech Republic, Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, the Netherlands, Croatia, Serbia, Ireland, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Latvia, Luxembourg, North Macedonia, Hungary, Malta, Monaco, Germany, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Austria, Romania, San Marino, Slovenia, the United Kingdom, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden and Turkey.
There are also exceptions that allow patent protection to be requested via a European application in countries that are not EPO members. At present these are Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro, which together form the so-called “extension system”.
European patent application form and requirements
The request form for a European patent is available free of charge at the IPO SR filing office in Banská Bystrica, at its Bratislava branch, or online on the EPO and IPO SR websites. The application can be completed in any official EPO language – English, French or German – or in another major language.
Form and fees
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