Step 5: Publication of patent application
When patent application is filed in Europen Patent Office (EPO) it will be accorded a date of filing. the receiving section of EPO then examines whether the filing fee and or serach fee has been paid by applicant.
As soon as the initial formal examination is concluded, the European search is initiated. The EPO normally issues the European search report within five months of the filing of the application.
The search report serves to provide information on the relevant prior art to the applicant, to the examining division and, by means of its publication, to the public.
Publication of the European patent application
The European patent application is published as soon as possible after the expiry of eighteen months from the date of filing or the earliest priority date. You may however request that it be published earlier. The publication contains the description, the claims and any drawings, all as filed, plus the abstract. The European search report is published along with patent application or seperately (as per its availability)
| Responsibilities | ||
| Inventor |  | the patent application gets published automatically. or the optional step of filing an early publication request. |
| Patent agent or attorney |  | optional step of filing early publication request. |
| Patent office |  | the patent application is automatically published or if requested early publication is done. |
Why publish patent application ?
- it is required by Europe patent law if you are also filing patent outside Europe
- it will be found in prior art searches to examiners and to competitors trying to file similar application
- it will serve as an intimation to competitors that your patent is coming in this area
- having published patent on website will provide you recognition
Next article : Step 6: Examination of patent application
- Indian Patent Office, Govt. of India
- Patent Facilitator for Start-ups, Startup India Govt. of India
- Bachelor’s degree in Electronics and Telecommunication engineering.
- Author of multiple books on Patents and IPR including a best-selling book on “How to patent an idea in India” which has been selected as the “Memorable Business Book of 2018” by Amazon
- Books are included in the syllabus of Educational Institutions as textbook and reference book on subject of IPR and Patents
- For over 15 years, Prasad has helped protect the intellectual property rights (IPR) of more than 1800 clients, including individuals, entrepreneurs, and educational institutes. This includes patents, trademarks, designs, and copyrights.