A: Whether the European patent is still valid in the effective country after being granted should be inquired by the Patent Office of the effective country (for example, through its inquiry system).
The "INPADOC Data" system of the European Agency only guarantees that the legal status of Europe before the patent is granted is accurate, but does not guarantee that the legal status description of Europe in the effective country after the patent is granted is timely and accurate. The European Bureau itself has the following important statement: "The European Patent Office is not responsible for the accuracy of legal status data related to the post-authorization stage, including but not limited to its completeness and suitability for specific purposes, nor can it guarantee that such data are up-to-date. For authoritative information, please consult the relevant national patent offices. "
The statement of the European Patent Office is easy to understand: the authorization procedure is the responsibility of the European Patent Office, so the European Patent Office can timely and accurately grasp the legal status before authorization. The payment of the annual fee after authorization, whether it is invalidated through invalid procedures, is managed by each effective country. Only when the effective country timely and accurately informs the European Patent Office of the relevant information can the European Patent Office know the legal status of a European patent in the effective country timely and accurately. At present, the European Patent Office has 38 member countries. It is conceivable that the "INPADOC data" system of the European Patent Office is difficult to provide timely and accurate legal status information in the effective country after the European patent is granted.