An international patent application under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) does not automatically lead to a European patent. Applicants seeking protection in the contracting states of the European Patent Convention (EPC) must, at the latest at the end of the international phase, take the application into the European regional phase before the European Patent Office (EPO). As Germany is an EPC contracting state, a parallel entry into the German national phase before the DPMA is usually unnecessary. However, entry before the EPO involves more procedural steps and higher official fees than entry before the DPMA.
Deadline: 31 months from priority
The time limit for entering the European phase is 31 months. The earliest priority date is decisive; if no priority was claimed, the international filing date applies.
Requirements for entry
Within the 31-month deadline, the following actions in particular are required:
- Specification of the application documents on which the European procedure is to be based (amendments can already be filed at this stage).
- Filing of a translation into German, English or French, unless the international application was published in one of these languages.
- Payment of the filing fee and the designation fee and – if the EPO did not act as International Searching Authority (ISA) – the fee for the supplementary European search.
- Filing of the request for examination and payment of the examination fee.
- Payment of claims fees for the 16th and each subsequent claim.
- Designation of the inventor, unless already made in the international phase.
- For applicants without residence or principal place of business in an EPC contracting state: appointment of a professional representative before the EPO.
Request for examination and official fees
Unlike before the DPMA, the request for examination cannot be deferred: it must be filed on entry (at the latest six months after publication of the international search report, if that period expires later). The official fees are currently as follows:
| Type of fee | Official fee |
| Filing fee (online filing) | 135 € |
| Additional fee for the 36th and each subsequent page | 17 € |
| Designation fee | 720 € |
| Fee for the supplementary European search (not payable if the EPO acted as ISA) | 1.595 € |
| Examination fee where a supplementary European search is carried out | 2.010 € |
| Examination fee where no supplementary search is carried out (EPO acted as ISA) | 2.240 € |
| Claims fee, 16th to 50th claim (each) | 290 € |
| Claims fee, 51st claim onwards (each) | 720 € |
| Renewal fee for the 3rd year (only if already due on entry) | 725 € |
Micro-enterprises, natural persons, universities and non-profit organisations that have filed fewer than five European applications in the preceding five years receive a 30% reduction on most of these fees.
Legal consequences of missing the deadline
If the translation, the request for examination or the filing, search or designation fee is not filed or paid in time, the application is deemed to be withdrawn. Unlike before the DPMA, however, further processing is generally available: within two months of the communication of the loss of rights, by completing the omitted act and paying a fee for further processing.
Conclusion
Entry into the European phase involves more procedural steps and considerably higher official fees than the route via the DPMA, but covers all EPC contracting states with a single application. We will be pleased to assist you with the timely entry of your Euro-PCT application.
Quickly calculate official fees yourself
Would you like to calculate the official fees for your European phase entry in advance – including page fees, the ISA-dependent examination fee and the 30% reduction for micro-entities? Use our free online tool: pct-calculator.com