Your application will be published 18 months after the filing date or the earliest priority date. You may, however, request that it be published earlier.BACK>>>

Request

There is no prescribed form for such requests. Requests must, however, be filed in writing with the EPO and quote the application number(s) concerned. We recommend filing them via MyEPO Portfolio. Where the request is filed via other means, we recommend using EPO Form 5070.

The request must be filed by an entitled person or their representative.

Evidence
Any kind of suitable written evidence is admissible, for example a copy of the contractual agreement signed by both parties, an extract thereof or some other official document. A declaration signed by both parties is also sufficient. Documentary evidence may be filed in any language. The EPO may however require a translation into one of its official languages (Rule 3(3) EPC).

The document filed in support of the request must contain the following information:

The name and address of the parties (licensor and licensee).
The application number(s) of the application(s) concerned. Where the application to which the licence applies is a divisional application, the request must include the application number of the divisional application.
A list of the designated states to which the licence applies (or an indication that the request relates to all the designated states).
If a contractual agreement is involved, it must be signed by both parties. Where a party is a legal person, the signature of a natural person entitled to represent the legal entity is required, together with their name and position within the legal entity.
Contracts and declarations submitted as evidence to support such requests may be authenticated by a handwritten, facsimile, text string or digital signature (see the decision of the President of the EPO dated 9 February 2024 concerning signatures on contracts and declarations under Rules 22 and 85 and Rule 23 EPC, OJ EPO 2024, A17, and the notice from the EPO dated 9 February 2024 concerning revised Rule 22 EPC, OJ EPO 2024, A22).

Exclusive licences may also be recorded pursuant to Rule 24(a) EPC. In such cases, the registration must be requested by both parties.

Sub-licences may also be recorded, provided that the main licence has been registered (Rule 24(b) EPC).

Fee
A request for registration may be subject to the payment of an administrative fee under the conditions laid down by the President of the EPO (see Rule 22(2) EPC). No fee is due when the request is filed via MyEPO Portfolio (see the decision of the President of the EPO dated 25 January 2024 revising the Office's fees and expenses, OJ EPO 2024, A5). Where the request is filed via other means, the administrative fee remains due. In the latter case, the request for registration is not deemed to have been filed until the administrative fee has been paid (Rule 23(1) in conjunction with Rule 22(2) EPC).

Please check the amount due on the date of payment using the latest version of the schedule of fees and expenses, which is published as a supplementary publication to the EPO's Official Journal and available on the EPO website.

Registration date
The licence is recorded in the European Patent Register and becomes effective before the EPO on the date on which the above-mentioned requirements are met, irrespective of the date on which it became effective between the parties.

Note

Registration of a licence cannot be requested before the publication of the European patent application.
The last day on which a licence can be recorded with the EPO is the day before the date on which the grant of the European patent is mentioned in the European Patent Bulletin. Where the patent has been granted but no request has been filed in due time, licences must be recorded with the competent national office(s), in accordance with the relevant national provisions.
The same applies to the registration of other rights, such as security rights.

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Yes. If you or your predecessor in title have filed an application for either a patent or the registration of a utility model or a utility certificate in or for any state party to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property or any member of the World Trade Organization, you may claim priority when filing a European patent application in respect of the same invention. You must do so within 12 months of the date of filing of the first application.

If the previous application was filed in an EPC contracting state, you can also designate that state in the European application. The previous application whose priority you claim may also be a European or international (PCT) application.
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In order to initiate the European phase you must fulfil a number of requirements within 31 months of the filing date or, if priority has been claimed, the earliest priority date. More details can be found on the EPO website.BACK>>>

Your application is eligible for PPH if:

1. the European application (EP) for which participation in the PPH programme is requested shares the same earliest date with the corresponding, OEE application;
2. the corresponding, OEE application has been found to contain at least one patentable/allowable claim;
3. all claims of the EP application filed with the EPO as OLE sufficiently correspond with the claims deemed patentable/allowable in the OEE application, and
4. substantive examination of the EP has not begun.

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