{"id":8039,"date":"2022-10-13T12:04:36","date_gmt":"2022-10-13T12:04:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dhenne-avocat.sea-dev-and-sun.fr\/lexique-propriete-intellectuelle\/https-www-dhenne-avocats-fr-lexique-propriete-intellectuelle-oeb\/"},"modified":"2026-08-12T09:24:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T09:24:09","slug":"oeb","status":"publish","type":"lexique","link":"https:\/\/www.dhenne-avocats.fr\/en\/intellectual-property-glossary\/oeb\/","title":{"rendered":"EPO (European Patent Office)"},"content":{"rendered":"

The European Patent Office<\/strong> is an organization that grants patents at European level. Its headquarters are in Munich, Germany. It also has a department in the municipality of Rijswijk in the Netherlands, an annex in Berlin and offices in Vienna and Brussels.<\/span><\/p>\n

Naissance de l\u2019OEB<\/h3>\n

Created by the European Patent Convention (EPC), signed in Munich in 1973, the European Patent Office (EPO) began operating in 1977. The main aim of the organisation was to simplify the grant of a European patent valid in several countries at once, without going through a national procedure in each State. The system gave inventors a more efficient route to securing protection for their inventions throughout the territory of the EPC contracting States.<\/p>\n

Aujourd\u2019hui, l\u2019OEB regroupe 39 \u00c9tats membres<\/strong>, including the countries of the European Union but also other European countries such as Switzerland, Norway and T\u00fcrkiye. The Office is independent of the European Union, although it plays a central role in European intellectual property.<\/p>\n

La structure et l\u2019organisation de l\u2019OEB<\/h3>\n

The EPO is an intergovernmental office headquartered in Munich, Germany. It also has offices in The Hague (Netherlands), Berlin, Vienna and Brussels.<\/p>\n

The EPO is organised around several key bodies:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. The President of the EPO, who heads the Office and is responsible for its administrative management.<\/li>\n
  2. The Administrative Council, made up of representatives of the contracting States, which supervises the Office\u2019s activities and adopts certain rules governing filing and examination procedure.<\/li>\n
  3. The Boards of Appeal, which hear appeals against decisions of the Office, in particular refusals to grant or revocations of a European patent.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The EPO employs more than 6,000 staff from a range of European countries, which ensures a multinational and neutral approach to the handling of patent applications.<\/p>\n

    The powers of the EPO<\/h3>\n

    The EPO is responsible for examining and granting European patents. It does not grant a single European patent, but a bundle of national patents valid in the countries designated by the applicant.<\/p>\n

    The EPO\u2019s principal powers are:<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Receipt of applications<\/strong> : the Office receives European patent applications. They may be filed directly with the EPO, or through the national office of a contracting State.<\/li>\n
    2. Examination of patentability<\/strong> : the EPO determines whether the invention meets the conditions for protection laid down by the EPC \u2014 novelty, inventive step and industrial application.<\/li>\n
    3. Publication<\/strong> : applications are generally published 18 months after filing. Publication allows any third party to access the content of the invention and, where appropriate, to oppose it.<\/li>\n
    4. D\u00e9livrance<\/strong> : if the application meets all the conditions, the EPO grants the patent. The patent must then be validated in each designated country, which may involve translating the text and paying national fees.<\/li>\n
    5. Proc\u00e9dures d\u2019opposition et de recours<\/strong> : after grant, any third party may oppose the validity of the patent before the EPO. Decisions may be appealed to the Office\u2019s Boards of Appeal.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      La proc\u00e9dure devant l\u2019OEB<\/h3>\n

      La proc\u00e9dure de d\u00e9p\u00f4t aupr\u00e8s de l\u2019OEB suit plusieurs \u00e9tapes. Tout d\u2019abord, le d\u00e9posant doit provide a complete description of the invention<\/strong>, together with claims defining the subject-matter protected. A filing fee is payable at this stage.<\/p>\n

      Once the application has been published, substantive examination begins. At this stage the EPO assesses whether the patentability criteria are met. If the outcome is favourable, the Office notifies the grant of the patent.<\/p>\n

      Once granted, the European patent becomes a bundle of national patents. Renewal fees must be paid regularly in each country to keep them in force. It is also possible, under certain conditions, to limit or revoke a patent even after grant.<\/p>\n

      An essential tool for intellectual property in Europe<\/h3>\n

      Thanks to the EPO, companies, researchers and inventors have a powerful tool for securing protection of their inventions across wide territories. By offering a centralised procedure, the European Office simplifies the formalities and reduces costs compared with national filings in each country.<\/p>\n

      L\u2019OEB joue \u00e9galement un r\u00f4le important en mati\u00e8re d\u2019information technologique. Sa base de donn\u00e9es, Espacenet<\/strong>, gives free access to millions of European and worldwide patents, whether published or granted, which supports technology watch and innovation.<\/p>\n

      It should be noted that, since the entry into force of the European patent with unitary effect (which is not administered directly by the EPO, but is closely linked to it), a further step has been taken towards more coherent and centralised European intellectual property protection.<\/p>\n

      In short, the European Patent Office is a key actor in European intellectual property. Through its mission, its rigorous procedure and its role as technical arbiter, it maintains a balance between protecting inventors and giving society access to innovation. For anyone seeking to protect an invention in Europe, understanding the role of the EPO is indispensable.<\/p>","protected":false},"parent":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-8039","lexique","type-lexique","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nOEB - Dhenne Avocats<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"OEB : D\u00e9finition et explications juridiques du terme sur le lexique Dhenne Avocats.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dhenne-avocats.fr\/en\/intellectual-property-glossary\/oeb\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"OEB - Dhenne Avocats\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"OEB : D\u00e9finition et explications juridiques du terme sur le lexique Dhenne Avocats.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.dhenne-avocats.fr\/en\/intellectual-property-glossary\/oeb\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Dhenne Avocats\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-12T09:24:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dhenne-avocats.fr\\\/lexique-propriete-intellectuelle\\\/oeb\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dhenne-avocats.fr\\\/lexique-propriete-intellectuelle\\\/oeb\\\/\",\"name\":\"OEB - 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