Patenting in Europe can use individual European patent offices, but since 1978, the main route to patenting in Europe has been to file and examine at the European Patent Office which serves 38 countries, 28 of them in the European Union. The European Patent Office has harmonized patentability among those countries and also served as a place of comparison and contrast to the patent examinations conducted by the United States, China, Japan, and other countries. To know EPO law and procedure is quite valuable to patent attorneys located in those other countries because of the importance of the European market to multi‐national industry.
This class will explore the European examination of eligibility, clarity, novelty, and inventive step, along with post‐grant opposition. The students and instructor will collaborate by pre‐arranged reading/recitation assignments to maximize scope of coverage of topics, with a comparison and contrast to American patent law and practice, where applicable.
Map of European Patent Convention Members (via European Patent Office) - 38 Member states are in red. 2 Extension states in light blue. 3 Validation states in medium blue.
For comparison's sake:
